Class

It's the summer of sports and socialism! Connell (River Valley DSA) and Jason (Connecticut DSA) join us to talk about socialist fandom, the political economy of sports in the US, and how sports can bring us together as an organization. Send us Fan Mail Become a member of Democratic Socialists of America . Sign up to receive NPEC's newsletter,  Red Letter . 

Right-wingers have attacked public schools for decades as training grounds for future “woke” Marxists. Our guests Kevin, Mie, and Sudip turn that on its head with their new study, identifying what they’ve termed “social justice nationalism," a pedagogy that avoids class analysis and a real critique of power, and isolates social activism and politics from collective action.  Join the National...

Jalil Muntaqim and Sid C. W. discuss the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, national liberation struggles, and the Spirit of Mandela coalition's July 4 National Mobilization Against Genocide. Jalil is a member of the Spirit of Mandela coalition, and Sid is a member of DSA's National Political Committee (NPC).  Information about the mobilization can be found here . DSA...

How should socialists position ourselves and our movement in the face of American decline and ongoing threats to democracy? Aziz Rana, DSA-endorsed candidate for Congress Oliver Larkin, and St Petersburg, FL’s socialist in office, Richie Floyd, discussed the current political terrain on a mass call recorded Weds 05/20, presented here as a podcast.  Join DSA’s National Electoral Commission . Send u...

Gabriel from Portland DSA joins Class to discuss the complex political and class struggles around unpopular hyperscaled data center construction in Oregon, and how the moratorium campaign influenced the State House primaries happening now, where a DSA candidate, Tammy Carpenter, is competing against the Democratic establishment and tech capitalists. Read about the OR data center struggle in PDX DS...

Cerena and Griffin, two DSA labor leaders from Houston and DC, join us to discuss the meaning and history of May Day for the socialist and labor movements and how, in this disorganizing time, we can still organize towards higher worker militancy and struggle to fight the right and capital.   This year, our May Day demands are NO WAR, ABOLISH ICE, TAX THE RICH! Now, over 150 DSA chapters are doing...

Class is taking a spring break and will be back with our regular programming on April 20th. For now, enjoy a moment of seasonal poetry with a few comrades across time and space: Rosa Luxemburg, Bertolt Brecht, Langston Hughes, and Ada Limón. Happy early Earth Day and May Day, listeners!  Read on this episode: - Rosa Luxemburg’s letters to Hans Diefenbach, March 30, 1917 & Sophie Liebkecht, May...

David (Socialist Majority, NYC-DSA) and Ramsin (Bread and Roses, Chicago DSA) discuss their perspectives on party-building, political independence, and the democratic road to socialism.   Read David’s piece comparing the SPA and DSA, “The Long Reroute,” published by the Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung  here . Read Ramsin’s pieces about how and when to advance socialist political independence,  here  and ...

In this episode, we talk with Lisa from Labor Notes and Scott from the IBEW reform caucus CREW about the new guide on building rank-and-file reform caucuses in existing unions. Reform caucus organizing is one of the primary strategies within DSA and the broader American labor left to support the growth of a militant, democratic workers' movement.  Find the new Labor Notes guide, “How to Build...

NPEC member and former chair Evan (Mid-Hudson Valley) talks about his journey into socialism and garden knowledge, and how our hopeful politics of renewal, intention, collectivity, and cooperation are made practical and material by digging around in the dirt. Evan recommends the book Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer fo...

We’re joined by Nick and Tyler from Louisville DSA to talk about being socialist poets and glimpsing beauty in a chaotic, capitalist world.  Nick and Tyler’s occasional podcast, Poetry is a Destructive Force, is here . Oscar Wilde's "The Soul of Man Under Socialism” is here . Oscar Wilde's “Lecture to Art Students” is here .   Send us Fan Mail Become a member of Democratic Socialist...

We are pleased to present “Stop the Siege on Cuba,” a mass call from February 22nd by DSA’s International Committee and Cuba Solidarity Working Group, along with an interview with Claire from Boston DSA, a co-chair of the working group. Listen and learn how to get involved with democratic socialist activism in support of Cuban self-determination and freedom from imperialist violence and oppression...

In this episode of Class , we talk to Sarah, chair of DSA’s National Grievance Panel, about the contradictions and openings of conflict within a socialist organization. We walk through some of the political and affective distinctions that must urgently be drawn to effectively struggle together as comrades and build the truly free world we want to live in.  Read a review of Jodi Dean’s Comrade: An...

On this episode, we talk with Colin from DSA’s National Tech Committee about becoming a socialist and doing socialism on the internet. This episode will kick off what we expect will be a regular discussion on the wide topic of “digital socialism.”  NPEC/NTC Training 02/19: Socialist Archiving 201: The Digital Deep Dive Get involved with DSA’s National Tech Committee!  NTC website Apply to the comm...

On this episode, we talk to Megan, one of DSA’s national cochairs, about her political journey from early-00s girlboss feminism to Marta Harnecker’s mass-protagonist vision of a socialist future, and how collective political education was crucial to her transformation.  Find Marta Harnecker’s writings in the Monthly Review online archive  HERE . Send us Fan Mail Become a member of Democratic Socia...

In this episode, Luke talks with Edward about the Socialist Party of America's (SPA) 1912 Program and its role in his political development. Luke concentrates on two aspects of the platform: its programmatic character and democratic political demands, including the demand for a democratic constitution. This is the first of several conversations we hope to host with NPEC members about texts th...

In this episode, we talk to Ashik, one of DSA’s national cochairs, about how he grew into socialism over time through organizing and political education, from growing up Muslim in Bay Ridge during 9/11, to participating in the Occupy and environmental movements, to becoming a leader of the biggest socialist organization in the United States.  Ashik’s picks: Naomi Klein's books: https://naomik...

On January 6th, DSA’s International Committee (IC) and National Political Committee (NPC) organized an emergency mass call to discuss the Trump administration’s provocations in Venezuela, and socialists’ role in leading the fight against imperialist aggression. Class is pleased to present Hands Off Venezuela! as a podcast episode, following up on our episode on Cuba.  Apply for DSA’s International...

DSA regularly sends large delegations of members to Cuba to distribute aid and learn about Cuban politics, government, and society. Last fall, National Political Committee (NPC) members Cliff and Daniel went on one such delegation. They join us to share their individual perspectives on the value of this trip for a socialist political education.  Note : We recorded this episode a week and a half be...

Why is the right so fixated on whoever or whatever it is they think is Marx or “Marxism”? Why do they conflate Marx with everything else they don’t like? We are starting our second semester of Capital this week, and joining Michaela is fellow NPEC comrade Ed, who shares his perspectives on a formal and political education under Reagan, and how socialist struggle has prepared him for yet another ag...

Michaela speaks with Ashwin, a River Valley DSA member and current researcher in Mexico City, about the social movement running UTOPIAs: experiments in providing services, education, and pleasure in the poorest district of the city backed by MORENA, the current ruling party, which promotes “Mexican Humanism” as a core principle of governance.  “Mexico City’s UTOPIAs” by Ashwin R https://socialistf...

Edward and Michaela share their experiences as long-time readers and guides to Capital Volume One, at a time when socialism is on the rise, and curiosity about this difficult but key work is growing.  Join NPEC’s current Capital group (familiarity with Part One of the text is highly recommended, but you can get caught up): https://actionnetwork.org/events/capital-reading-group-fall-semester-2025/...

In this episode, Michaela and Darren talk about socialist perspectives on archival research. DSA's next Archives Training Project is on Wednesday, the 29th. You can register here . Whether you're a chapter chair or secretary wondering how best to approach records, a comrade with a lot of socialist swag and no idea what to do with it, or just someone curious about how archives work, you&a...

This is a recording of NPEC's panel event with Aziz Rana and Matt McManus about the left's approach to the Constitution. Topics include how the left navigates terms like “bourgeois democracy," and how it should approach the upcoming 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, with its promises of equality and universal rights. The conversation asks us to push beyond conven...

Since at least 2015 in the US, American Socialism has been growing again, and DSA is currently the largest organized socialist formation in the country, by far. But what about the vast majority of… well, everyone else, of all different inclinations? What role does political education have in bringing non-socialists into DSA to build our party — or at least, bringing them closer to us, or not in op...