Jacobin Radio

Featuring Eskandar Sadeghi-Boroujerdi and Golnar Nikpour on the history of modern Iran. This is the fourth episode in what is now a FIVE-part series. We pick up in the wake of the Islamic Revolution as Khomeini consolidates power, represses his rivals, and confronts an invasion from Saddam Hussein's Iraq. We continue through the Iran-Iraq War, the mass execution of thousands of leftist prisoners,...

Joel Schalit on the return of Bibi Netanyahu in Israel, now in coalition with the religious right. Mohammad Salemy on the tripartite structure of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Megan Kinch on a labor upsurge in Ontario. Behind the News , hosted by Doug Henwood, covers the worlds of economics and politics and their complex interactions, from the local to the global. Find the archive here: https://ww...

We finally felt lucky enough to discuss the granddaddy of right-wing law-and-order movies, DIRTY HARRY (1971). One thing is for certain: this is one cop who takes no guff from no one. PLUS: fiery hot takes on the U.S. midterms, the labour strike that is rocking Canada, and the future of entertainment. This episode was recorded before election day in the US. Michael and Us is a podcast about politi...

Political economist Alfredo Saad-Filho discusses the Brazilian elections. Then, Mina Khani and Mohammad Salemy look at the ongoing, women-led uprising in Iran. Behind the News , hosted by Doug Henwood, covers the worlds of economics and politics and their complex interactions, from the local to the global. Find the archive here: https://www.leftbusinessobserver.com/Radio.html

Featuring Eskandar Sadeghi-Boroujerdi and Golnar Nikpour on the history of modern Iran. This is the third episode in our four-part series. We pick up in the wake of the US-British 1953 coup against Mossadegh, assess the Shah's repression and attempts to manufacture consent through passive revolution, and then close by laying out the 1979 Islamic Revolution in all of its wild complexity. &nbsp...

Science fiction has traditionally depicted a robot takeover as a conscious bid for global domination by our mechanical offspring. From The Terminator to The Matrix , we’ve been invited to picture a war to the death between man and machine. More recently however, figures like Elon Musk have spoken about the rise of the robots as a more insidious threat to humanity; the machines may bear us no ill w...

Adam McKay's VICE (2018) sought to give Dick Cheney the full reckoning for his crimes through art that he will never receive in life. Is the film necessary cinematic intervention in the ongoing Cheney reclamation project, or a condescending failure? Your hosts disagree sharply on this cinematic polemic. PLUS: fiery hot takes on Elon Musk's Twitter takeover. "'Damn right,' I said" by Eliot Weinberg...

Featuring Eskandar Sadeghi-Boroujerdi and Golnar Nikpour on the history of modern Iran. This is the second episode in our four-part series. We begin in 1941 with the British-Soviet occupation of Iran, the ouster of Reza Shah and his replacement by his son, Mohammad Reza Shah. We continue with the rise of the Tudeh communist party, the nationalization of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, Mohammad Mosa...

Jamieson Webster , author of a recent opinion piece in the Times , examines what severe psychological distress among adolescents is telling us about American society. Then Raina Lipsitz , author of The Rise of a New Left , looks at the history, personnel, and status of today’s radicalism. Behind the News , hosted by Doug Henwood, covers the worlds of economics and politics and their complex intera...

Suzi talks to Michael Cox, Cold War and International Relations expert, about his forthcoming article in Critique , “In the shadow of the Russian revolution: Putin, Xi, and the long war in Ukraine.” Mick looks at the state of the war and the shock to the world system it has provoked, wreaking havoc with energy prices and the financial system. He examines the relationship between Russia and China w...

In a distant future, a privileged ruling class lives in a city fueled by an invisible army of workers who toil in barbaric conditions. Yes, this is the far-fetched scenario of one of the most iconic science-fiction films of all time, Fritz Lang's METROPOLIS (1927). We finally discuss the most famous of all Weimar-era movies, and debate whether or not the mediator between the head and the hand real...

This episode is the first in a four-part series on the history of modern Iran, from 1906 through the present. This episode covers the period from 1906 until 1941, from the Constitutional Revolution that imposed constitutional limits on the Qajar dynasty through the 1921 coup that brought to power Reza Khan—who then in 1925 deposed the Qajars and became Reza Shah, the first shah of the Pahlavi dyna...

Annelle Sheline of the Quincy Institute explains why Saudi Arabia cut its oil production dramatically. James Meadway , former adviser to Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party and now director of the Progressive Economy Forum, analyzes why Britain is in economic and political crisis. Behind the News , hosted by Doug Henwood, covers the worlds of economics and politics and their complex interactions, from th...

This is sadly our final episode of the Jacobin Show . We're joined by labor organizer and author Jane McAlevey to discuss the state of the labor movement and where it needs to go to address our mounting crises. Ariella Thornhill and Paul Prescod also join Jen Pan to discuss what a healthy left needs to consist of and why the claims to a "new working class" are dead wrong. The Jacobin Show is a wee...

Suzi talks to Iranian scholar and activist Yassamine Mather about the growing protest movement in Iran, sparked by the brutal murder of Mahsa Amini in police custody for wearing a loose hijab. The demonstrations have spread across the country and world with women chopping off their hair in solidarity and protest. The Islamic regime has violently cracked down on protestors but has failed to quell t...

We discuss death, bureaucracy, and postwar Japan in Akira Kurosawa's masterpiece IKIRU (1952). PLUS: Everything you always wanted to know about Toronto's political culture (and upcoming municipal election) but were afraid to ask! Michael and Us is a podcast about political cinema and our crumbling world hosted by Will Sloan and Luke Savage.

The question of how to define antisemitism has become a major political controversy. Many leading political figures, including Benjamin Netanyahu, now insist that antisemitism and anti-Zionism are two sides of the same coin. How did we reach a point where this kind of discourse has become entirely routine? Antony Lerman joins Long Reads to discuss the history of this debate, covered in a new book,...

Featuring Laura Mason on her book The Last Revolutionaries: The Conspiracy Trial of Gracchus Babeuf and the Equals . Mason discusses Babeuf's call to abolish property, his radically egalitarian conspiracy against the Directory government, and the end of the French Revolution. How a centrist government turned its back on popular democracy, presided over growing inequality and working-class poverty,...

Doug speaks with Troy Vettese and Drew Pendergrass, authors of Half-Earth Socialism , about their scheme to save the world. Behind the News , hosted by Doug Henwood, covers the worlds of economics and politics and their complex interactions, from the local to the global. Find the archive here: https://www.leftbusinessobserver.com/Radio.html

On the occasion of Jacobin 's "Inflation" issue release party, Samir Sonti interviewed historian Adam Tooze at the Mayday Space in Brooklyn. This is audio from that recent live conversation. Samir and Adam discuss the causes, threats, and nuances of inflation, as well as ways to combat the cost-of-living crisis in such a way that puts the needs of people before capital. Get the new "Inflation" iss...

Grace speaks to historian David Broder about Italian fascism following the recent elections in which the Italian far-right party led by Giorgia Meloni, the Brothers of Italy, came to power. They discuss the longer-term background of the rise of fascism, which David will be covering in his forthcoming book,  Mussolini’s Grandchildren . A World to Win is a podcast from Grace Blakeley and Tribun...

Sabrina Fernades, Alex Hochuli, and Ben Fogel join us for a major overview and analysis of the state of the Brazilian election. Will Lula pull off his comeback? What would that mean for working class politics in Brazil? We're also joined by longtime Democratic strategist and commentariat Ruy Teixeira to discuss why the Democrats are married to losing cultural politics. Finally, Jen Pan and Cale Br...

In 2015, three American armed forces vets foiled an attack on a train to Paris. Three years later, Clint Eastwood enlisted the boys to re-enact their experience in a major motion picture. The result, THE 15:17 TO PARIS (2018), is a genuinely strange docu-fiction experiment that, yes, has a lot to say about America. Michael and Us is a podcast about political cinema and our crumbling world hosted b...

Featuring Anton Jäger and Dominik Leusder on Europe and the European Union from the crises of social democratic welfare states in the 1970s and 80s, the Maastricht Treaty of 1992, through the eurozone crisis, to the present moment of war in Ukraine, renewed NATO expansion, and a resurgent far right. Listen to Anton and Dominik's Eurotrash podcast patreon.com/eurotrash Support this podcast at Patre...

We're joined by Donald Cohen, executive director of the policy organization In The Public Interest, to discuss his new book The Privatization of Everything , which looks at how the privatization of public goods has undermined democracy. We're also joined by Jacobin staff writer Luke Savage to discuss his new book The Dead Center— and whether the left can (or should) save liberalism from liberals....