Left Anchor

We bring on Astra Taylor to talk about her twinned book and documentary on democracy ( What Is Democracy and Democracy May Not Exist, But We'll Miss It When It's Gone ). We discuss the theory and practice of self-government, how she developed her film and book, and what lessons she learned in the process.

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Did you know Vidal Sassoon was a committed anti-fascist who brawled with Oswald Mosley's followers after the Second World War? Today we learn that and more from Natasha Lennard , author of the recent essay collection  Being Numerous: Essays on Non-Fascist Life . We talk about the psychological and economic roots of fascism, the role of violence in defeating it, and how society might be changed to...

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Today we take a partial look at Bernie's policy platform -- his anti-usury bill, his agriculture policy, his ideas to desegregate education, Medicare for all, his plan to fix Puerto Rico, and more! 

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We've got all-time champion returning guest Jeff Spross on to talk about Modern Monetary Theory -- what does it say, what are its implications, and does it provide better policy guidance than other theoretical economic frameworks? Tune in to find out!

This time we've got Corey Robin, author of The Reactionary Mind and professor of political science at Brooklyn College and the CUNY Graduate Center, on to talk about freedom and his excellent upcoming book The Enigma of Clarence Thomas  ( pre-order now !). We talk about how most workers experience a severe lack of freedom in the workplace , and then move on to discuss Clarence Thomas's history and...

This time we've got a real live Frenchman on the pod! Manu Saadia , author of the book Trekonomics , comes on to discuss two scholarly analyses of the Yellow Vests protests, their complicated class and racial politics, and how Emmanuel Macron's presidency is playing out . Is he the Mayor Pete of France? Listen to find out!

This time we bring on economist Marshall Steinbaum to talk about his article praising Elizabeth Warren's free college/student debt cancellation proposal, plus his previous articles discussing ending segregation in higher education, and a broader theory of why college should be considered a public good, not a method of building up "human capital." Enjoy!

Check out this preview of our latest bonus episode, available here ! 

This time we bring on lawyer and activist Emma Caterine to talk about her article analyzing the feminist aspects of the wretched 2005 bankruptcy reform bill, and her article endorsing Queens DA candidate Tiffany Cabán on prison abolition grounds. (The book The Communist Horizon we mention can be found here as well.) Enjoy!

This time we bring on famed labor activist and writer Rich Yeselson to talk about Eric Loomis's new book A History of American in Ten Strikes (see Rich's review in The Nation here ). We discuss the timid politics and continuing decline of the American labor movement, how it was organized in the past, and how it might be revitalized.

This time, we talk about Theodor Adorno 's essay " Freudian Theory and the Pattern of Fascist Propaganda ," and the Public Seminar roundtable discussing it. We hit on the fake image of fascist vigor and efficiency, and the utterly moronic consequences of fascist governance. 

This paid episode is unlocked for 48 hours! Enjoy!   This time we're breaking new ground with 2 guests simultaneously -- Maximillian Alvarez of The Baffler and the Working People podcast , and Aisling McCrea of Current Affairs! We talk about why there is no good conservative comedy, the madness of valuing history for history's sake, why James K. Polk is a badly overrated president, and several oth...

This time we bring on special guest Mehdi Hasan, a columnist at The Intercept where he also hosts the fantastic " Deconstructed " podcast. We discuss the media circus around the Mueller report, and what to do about the worldwide plague of white supremacist terrorism. (Mehdi also gives us a lesson in how a real radio pro sounds, enjoy!) 

In this excerpt from our latest bonus episode , we talk the imperial politics of the film Black Panther.

This time we bring on Pat Garofalo to talk about his new book The Billionaire Boondoggle: How Our Politicians Let Corporations and Bigwigs Steal Our Money and Jobs . It's a great read, digging into the wretched practice of corporations extracting bribes to move factories to communities -- which surprisingly doesn't even change the business decision most of the time. Enjoy! Remember if you'd like a...

This time we bring on Jon aka " The Lit Crit Guy " to talk about the concept of Gothic Marxism, how horror can reveal underlying social pathologies, and the use (or lack thereof) of theory in politics writ large. You can find his Horror Vanguard podcast here . We had a couple unfortunate technical snags, but the audio is mostly fine. Enjoy!

This time we explore the differences between neoliberalism, Brandeisianism, social democracy, and democratic socialism, and which presidential candidates represent each tradition (if any). In the process we inexpertly riff on Jeff Foxworthy's signature comedy bit , so send in your submissions if you can think of better examples. The FDR biography Ryan mentions is this two - part work by Roger Dani...

This time we bring on activist and scholar David Kaib to discuss Martin Luther King's famous Letter from a Birmingham Jail , and Iris Marion Young's essay " Activist Challenges to Deliberative Democracy ." We talk about the intersection between democratic theory and practice, and the conditions under which it may become necessary to set aside debate and break the law to achieve justice. (Also note...

We're taking this one out from behind the paywall for a special occasion (and a sample of what you can find as a paying customer ). This time we continue our discussion from the last episode with Cornell Law professor Robert Hockett , Green New Deal adviser to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. We talk more broadly about climate change, politics, and moral philosophy.

This time we talk about the Green New Deal with Robert Hockett, a Cornell law professor and policy adviser of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. We discuss the basic objectives of aggressive climate policy, the policy mechanics thereof, and the political foundations of climate policy. This interview went long, so we'll be breaking it up into two parts -- stay tuned for the next episode!

Here's a preview of our latest episode -- available now on Patreon !

This time we bring on Peter Cole , a historian at Western Illinois University, to talk about his new book Dockworker Power: Race and Activism in Durban and the San Francisco Bay Area . We discuss the fascinating history of militant dockworker labor unions in the U.S. and South Africa, and how they have pushed for a truly international and egalitarian politics. (Unfortunately due to a technical gli...