Everyday Anarchism

Graeber explains human economies, economies in which money can only be used to shore up social relations, and can't be used to buy things - to the utter confusion of anthropologists trying to buy things

My former professors John McGowan and Meili Steele join me to discuss Richard Rorty's final book, Pragmatism as Anti-Authoritarianism .

James K. Galbraith joins me to discuss the flaws in the field of economics and its pseudoscientific justifications

Stuart Klawans joins me to discuss his recent book Crooked but Never Common about the films of Preston Sturges, the first writer-director of the Hollywood sound era. Informed by the work of Stanley Cavell, Stuart's book reads these comedies as asking important questions about democracy, business, the New Deal, marriage, and other pressing questions. Plus they're a joy to watch!

The chapter of Debt which inspired this podcast - get ready to hear the origin of everyday anarchism!

Philosopher of games C. Thi Nguyen joins me to discuss his current work on the intersection of anarchism and games studies. The conversation was so much fun that I started a whole new podcast, Plumbing Game Studies, to continue exploring this topic. For more from Thi, here's his website: https://objectionable.net/ Here's the website for the new podcast, Plumbing Game Studies Spotify Link: https://...

In this episode I'm joined by Henry Farrell , who got into an internet spat with David Graeber over Debt . Henry recently wrote a reflection on the kerfuffle at the blog Crooked Timber , and also co-wrote a book, Underground Empire: How America Weaponized the World Economy , that came about in part as a response to Graeber's Debt .

Kim Stanley Robinson to talk about his Mars trilogy, the theory of revolution that animates it, and where anarchism and anarchists fit in. This conversation is a direct sequel to our conversations on the Three Californias triptych, which you can listen to here: https://www.everydayanarchism.com/093-the-wild-shore-three-californias-kim-stanley-robinson/ https://www.everydayanarchism.com/096-the-gol...

Happy Mardi Gras! The show should be back publishing new episodes in March. In the meantime, here's a rerun, and a link to a couple of interview I did late last year: https://pod.link/1705765872/episode/716e36494d7eff56dc142642d55c7c3b https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jelle-laverge/episodes/The-Core-Curriculum---Episode-1---Interview-with-Graham-Culbertson-e2aeujb

Radicalism in the English Revolution gets to the Ranters, the radical group of protestants who may or may not have practiced free love - but definitely sparked a moral panic! In this extra-long discussion, Nigel Smith and I discuss the roots of Ranterism, its connections to the Diggers, its legacy for romanticism, and its connection to later American radical movements. Plus we talk about punk rock...

For my very first repeat episode, I'm reposting a conversation with Ruth Kinna about Santa Claus, Kropotkin, and the prefigurative practice of Christmas. You can read Ruth's article on the topic here: An Anarchist Guide to Christmas

Diane Purkiss joins me to discuss the Christmas Wars, in which Puritans attempted to prevent the celebration of Christmas in the 17th century. Christmas was a carnival in which the world was turned upside down - and the Puritans weren't having it. We also discuss the Lord of Misrule , Twelfth Night , and that 21st century lord of misrule: Lord Buckethead !

Debt Chapter 4, in which Jesus and Nietzsche show up!

I'm joined by Brian Merchant to discuss his new book, Blood in the Machine . Brian argues persuasively that the Luddites weren't anti-technology but were actually for a different social order and a different use of technology. More importantly, in Brian's book the factory owners look a lot like today's tech titans and the workers look a lot like, well, today's workers. So come back with us to the...

In a break from the two ongoing series, in this week's episode I'm joined by the anarchist YouTuber Andrewism. Andrew and I discuss homeschooling, our shared experiences as homeschooled kids, the way homeschooling prepared us to be learners, and the liberatory potential of the homeschooling ethos. Andrewism is one of the best ways to introduce yourself to the ideas of anarchism - check out his vid...

John Morrill, whose work I first encountered in Mike Duncan's podcast about the English Revolution, joins me to discuss the career of Oliver Cromwell. Cromwell was attacked in his time for being both too radical and not radical enough, and the picture has only gotten more complicated from there. John and I discuss his career, his convictions, his relationship to radicals like the Levellers and the...

For the third episode of Debt Discussions, the anthropologist Bill Maurer joins me to talk about Chapter 3 of Debt, Primordial Debts. Bill and I talk about the myth of primordial debt, where it fits in the anarchism vs. social democracy debate, and if the anthropological parables in the book fit Graeber's claims. We also talk about the strengths and flaws of Graeber's approach, especially the way...

Ariel Hessayon returns to discuss The Diggers , the radical group whose farming community most closely resembles the ideas of anarchist communism as expressed by 19th century figures such as Kropotkin, Morris, and Tolstoi. Ariel and I discuss their origins, their theology, their 19th century recovery, and above all the brilliant writings of one of their leaders, Gerrard Winstanley.

Continuing my series on Graeber's Debt , this episode looks at chapter 3, which introduces the other big myth which Graeber says underpins our modern imaginary. Primordial Debt, I argue, is the left-wing counterpart to the myth of barter, and Graeber critiques it less harshly but just as fully. Join me later this month for a conversation with the anthropologist Bill Maurer about this chapter, the...

Emerging from both civilian and military backgrounds, the Levellers were a radical group who advocated for expanded voting rights and freedom of conscience and speech. Rachel Foxley , author of The Levellers: Radical Political Thought in the English Revolution , explains the Levellers' views, their relationship to Oliver Cromwell, their revolutionary methods, and how their ideas resonate with late...

For the second episode of Debt Discussions, Cory Doctorow returns to the show to talk about Chapter 2 of Debt, The Myth of Barter. Cory and I talk about the way that economics resembles science fiction, the original reception of Debt (especially on the blog Crooked Timber), and talk some more about the topic of UBI and a jobs guarantee .

Ariel Hessayon joins me to start a new series, Radicalism in the English Revolution. Before we get to all the delightful radical groups - like Diggers and Levellers - Ariel and I discuss the English revolution, whether it was a revolution, what revolution meant to them, and what it meant to be a radical at the time. Here's an introduction to the concept of radicalism, or anarchism, in the English...

Continuing my series on Graeber's Debt , this episode looks at chapter 2, which is all about the silly stories that economists tell themselves to explain why economics is an objective science. Economics tells us that we can't imagine other worlds - but the field of economics is more imaginary than any fantasy novel

In just over two years, Everyday Anarchism hits 100 episodes! Kim Stanley Robinson returns to discuss The Pacific Edge , the third volume of his Three Californias triptych. We discuss how the beautiful ecosocialist utopia in The Pacific Edge keeps all of the mundanity, tedium, and tragedy of life, just without the horrors of neoliberal capitalism. Stan also explains why he's unsatisfied with the b...

Medieval historian Eleanor Janega joins me as the first guest in Graeber's Debt series. We discuss the big ideas in chapter 1, especially garden parties, moral confusion, American empire, and British debt. Eleanor also helped me understand how debt is the most important thing in Jane Austen's novels - and that's a bad thing. For more from Eleanor, you can check out her podcast debunking misconcept...