Cosmopod

Rudy, Carson, Eric and Rob sit down to talk about the only socialist state in the Arab peninsula, and arguably in the Arab world: The People's Democratic Republic of Yemen, also known as South Yemen. We discuss its origins, the struggles of the left factions to pursue a socialist path, its economic policies and political turns, as well as the factors that led to its demise through reunification wi...

I n a c o m p a r a t i v e s t u d y o f A u s t r o - M a r x i s m , t h e F r e n c h S o c i a l i s t m o v e m e n t , a n d B o l s h e v i s m , M e d w a y B a k e r a r g u e s f o r t h e l e f t t o s e e k u n i t y a r o u n d a p r o g r a m m e o f c o n s t i t u t i o n a l d i s l o y a l t y . Read By: Will Intro Music: ворожное озеро Гроза vwqp remix Outro Music: We are Frien...

Isaac and Jackson join David Austin, author of Fear of a Black Nation and Dread Poetry and Freedom: Linton Kwesi Johnson and the Unfinished Revolution , for a discussion of the Afro-Caribbean diasporic left, focusing on Montreal in the late 60s. They discuss the influence of the U.S. black power movement on the world, the black left in Montreal, and in particular the confluence between Caribbean n...

Cliff and Isaac join Jesse Olsavsky, author of The Most Absolute Abolition: Runaways, Vigilance Committees, and the Rise of Revolutionary Abolitionism, 1835–1861 , for a discussion on his book on the early abolitionist movement. They discuss the textbook history of abolition, and how this masks the role of runaways and other radicals substituting them for a white middle-class leadership, what Vigi...

Isaac KD and Jack L defend their critique of DSA's dominant strategic orientation towards reform campaigns in a response to Sam Lewis' " In Defense of Campaigns ".  Read by: Allan Lanterman Intro Music: ворожное озеро Гроза vwqp remix Outro Music: We are Friends Forever performed by Felix Dzerzhinsky Guards Regiment.

James, Cliff, Chas and Rudy join for a discussion on the events that take place in Hungary in 1956. We discuss the origins of the revolt, talking about the short lived Hungarian Soviet Republic in 1919, the People's Democracy period under Rakosi, the New Course and the roots of discontent. We then discuss the events themselves, as well as the reactions of the USSR and the wider Eastern Bloc and th...

A l e x J a m e s r e v i e w s R o d r i g o N u n e s ' l a t e s t b o o k N e i t h e r V e r t i c a l n o r H o r i z o n t a l , f i n d i n g a r e f r e s h i n g n e w v o c a b u l a r y f o r t a l k i n g a b o u t o r g a n i z a t i o n t h a t r a i s e s d i f f i c u l t q u e s t i o n s r a t h e r t h a n p r o v i d i n g s i m p l e a n s w e r s . Narrated by Aliyah Intro M...

Rudy joins Piero Gleijeses, author of Conflicting Missions: Havana, Washington and Africa, 1959–1976 and Visions of Freedom: Havana, Washington, Pretoria, and the Struggle for Southern Africa, 1976–1991 for a short discussion on Cuba's internationalist efforts in Africa. We discuss the start of Piero's project, and how he was allowed access to the Cuban archives and his interactions with Cuban off...

Renato Flores discusses the privatization of scientific knowledge and examines efforts of revolutionary movements to democratize this knowledge to help develop a communist approach to science. Narrated By: Allen Lanterman Intro Music: ворожное озеро Гроза vwqp remix Outro Music: We are Friends Forever performed by Felix Dzerzhinsky Guards Regiment.

Rudy joins Ashok Kumar author of Monopsony Capitalism: Power and Production in the Twilight of the Sweatshop Age for a discussion on global sweatshops, labor and commodity chains. We start off by comparing the Triangle Shirtwaist fire of 1912 and the Rana Plaza disaster of 2013, and explaining what has changed and what has stayed the same. We talk about the particular role of the textile industry...

With a focus on the recent organizing work of New York City Democratic Socialists of America, Comrades Isaac KD and Jack L critique the notion of a "policy feedback" loop as the guiding element of DSA's legislative strategy, as well as provide an alternative socialist framework for how DSA can engage with reform campaigns. Narrated by: Aliyah Intro Music: ворожное озеро Гроза vwqp remix Outro Musi...

James and Harry join Phil Burton-Cartledge, author of Falling Down: The Conservative Party and the Decline of Tory Britain for a discussion on his book. They discuss the Tories' crisis of political reproduction, how the party set the grounds for this with the Thatcher reforms, the class basis of the Conservative party before turning to explaining why understanding the Conservative party is importa...

How should socialists engage in coalitional politics? Jack L draws conclusions based on historical lessons and recent experiences in the housing struggle. Narrated by: Cliff Intro Music: ворожное озеро Гроза vwqp remix Outro Music: We are Friends Forever performed by Felix Dzerzhinsky Guards Regiment.

Amelia, Djamil, Christian, and Rudy join for a discussion on the history of Soviet Cybernetics and the use of computers for socialist planning. We discuss the origins of Cybernetics, its role as a reform movement in the sciences, and why cybernetics became attractive to the Soviet academy in the 50s, before moving to the biographies and projects of Anatoly Kitov and Viktor Glushkov. We reflect on...

Rudy joins Emmanuel Farjoun, Moshé Machover and David Zachariah for a discussion on their two books Laws of Chaos: A Probabilistic Approach to Political Economy (EF&MM only) and How Labor Powers the Global Economy: A Labor Theory of Capitalism . We cover the origins of the project to develop a probabilistic approach to political economy and how it has developed, what are its basic assumptions, wha...

Annie and Lucas join Barbara C. Allen, editor of the recent collection of documents The Workers' Opposition in the Russian Communist Party: Documents, 1919-30 and author of Alexander Shlyapnikov, 1885-1937: Life of an Old Bolshevik for a conversation on the Workers' Opposition in the Russian Communist Party. They discuss what the Workers' Opposition was, as well as the biographies of the more impo...

Last week, over 100 Starbucks stores went on strike, the latest step in the astonishing growth of organizing in the restaurant industry. Astonishing now, but as Kevin Bruce writes in his excellent new book We Have Fed You All For A Thousand Years: New York City Food Worker Organizing, 1912-1937 , in the long run of working class history, this is nothing new. Kevin is joined by Jackson and Isaac fo...

Warning: Sexual abuse is discussed in this episode. Brendan and James join John Kelly, author of Contemporary Trotskyism and The Twilight of World Trotskyism for a discussion on the history of world Trotskyism. They talk about the primacy of doctrine, the structure of Trotskyist parties around the world and their difference in structures and tactics, Trotskyism's lack of success in building mass p...

Rudy joins Dr. Ron G. Davis, founder of the San Francisco Mime Troupe in 1959, for a reflection of a life in art and politics. We discuss the SFMT's beginnings during the civil rights era, how it turned into a "guerilla" operation, the relationship to Teatro Campesino, civil rights and the black radical movement, why his time with the SFMT came to an end, and the influence of Brecht and his PhD wo...

B e y o n d f a i l i n g a t p r e v e n t i n g t h e i l l s o f a d d i c t i o n , t h e W a r o f D r u g s h a s s e r v e d a s a w a r o n t h o s e d i s p o s s e s s e d b y c a p i t a l i s m . B i l l y A n a n i a a r g u e s t h a t a s o c i a l i s t a p p r o a c h i s n e e d e d . Read by: Riley Intro Music: ворожное озеро Гроза vwqp remix Outro Music: We are Friends Forever...

Matt, Rudy, and Amelia sit down for a critical discussion about contemporary scientific management practices and frameworks, ranging from Lean, the Theory of Constraints, Improvement Kata to safety culture. Drawing on The Goal by E. M. Goldratt, Toyota Kata by Mike Rother, The Phoenix Project by Gene Kim et al. , and other works, they explore what socialists can learn from scientific management to...

Donald Parkinson argues the seeds of what Lyndon LaRouche would become were present from the very beginnings of his organization in this analysis of the early days of his career.   Read By: Riley   Intro Music: ворожное озеро Гроза vwqp remix    Outro Music: We are Friends Forever performed by Felix Dzerzhinsky Guards Regiment.

Rudy joins Kai Heron for a discussion on ecological political strategy. We discuss his political background, how to develop an ecological program out of the different ecology schools, the agrarian and land questions and how to approach liberal climate movements and trade unions. We also talk about the Green New Deal, the debates around focusing on production or consumption, eco-modernism and degro...

Maxi Nieto critiques the perspectives of the "new democratic socialism" and argues they are based on a misunderstanding of capitalism as a structural totality. Read By: Riley Intro Music: ворожное озеро Гроза vwqp remix Outro Music: We are Friends Forever performed by Felix Dzerzhinsky Guards Regiment.

Donald, Christian, and Connor return to the subject of Stalin and Stalinism. Picking up from the Great Purge, the episode covers the Second World War through the death of Stalin, or the High Stalinist period. Among other things they take up the questions of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, the Gulag system, and the rise of technocracy in the postwar years. The episode ends by exploring the lessons to...