Living the Dream

  In this episode of Living The Dream Dave (@withsobersenses) talks with Craig Gent from Novara Media . We talk about the recent UK General Election and the surprisingly good result Labour under Jeremy Corbyn received. Craig tells us about how Novara have chosen to orientate to Corybn and elections, the contradictions of social democracy and what the election may or may not mean for larger anticap...

In this episode of Living the Dream Jon (@JonPiccini) and Dave (@withsobersenses) are joined by Liz Humphrys (@liz_beths) who torpedos the hagiography of the ALP Hawke-Keating government. Whilst the talking heads of the ALP like Van Badham and Wayne Swan argue over if the Hawke-Keating government was mainly excellent with a few flaws or really excellent with none, Liz’s ground breaking work on the...

In this episode of Living the Dream Dave (@withsobersenses) chats with Godfrey Moase (@gemoase) the General Branch Assistant Secretary of the National Union of Workers . Godfrey had a number of criticisms of our last show . We talk about these and Godfrey also addresses the broader strategic and tactical possibilities for anticapitalist struggle and how they relate to trade unions.   You can find...

In this episode Jon (@jonpiccini) and Dave (@withsobersenses) talk about the recent cuts to penalty rates by the Fair Work Commission . We dismiss the idea that this attack is actual just a product of ‘the Right’; rather it is a continuation of the 100+ year tradition of arbitration supported by the ALP and the mainstream of the ACTU in the context of the real contradictions of capital accumulatio...

In a special episode of Living The Dream, Max and Natalie (@DrNatOsborne) join Jon (@JonPiccini) to discuss radical happenings in Brisbane of late. We talk about the election of Jonathon Sri in the Brisbane City Council elections of last year, why Brisbane is experiencing such a strong wave of ‘right to the city’ activism and how these two interconnect. Musings on the interconnections between soci...

In this episode of Living the Dream Jon (@jonpiccini) and Dave (@withsobersenses) have a very quick chat about Cory Bernardi quitting the Liberal party. We discuss how this is more evidence of the breakdown of politics/the rise of antipolitics; the attempts by the RBA to keep capital accumulation going through monetary policy whilst everything crumbles around them and what this means for radical s...

In this episode of Living The Dream  Jon (@jonpiccini ) and Dave (@withsobersenses) go through the entrails with an inverted periscope to try to see what we should expect for 2017. We chat about Invasion Day and the rising tide of Indigenous struggles, the Centrelink debacle, anti-Road protests and more. We are pretty optimistic about the year ahead and look forward to hearing your thoughts. Artic...

    In this episode of Living the Dream Jon (@jonpiccini) and Dave (@withsobersenses) talk about the weird as hell political environment of the Age of Trump. Was 2016 the worst year ever? Are we caught in the midst of a rising reactionary wave? And why do the failures of the liberal establishment feel to so many people to be failures of the Left? (And what is the Left? Are we the Left?) What’s wit...

In this episode of Living The Dream, Dave (@withsobersenses ) chats with Carmen about the Workplace Organising 101 training she recently provided in Brisbane. Carmen talks about the purpose and structure of this training, its relationship to anarcho-syndicalism and reflects critically on the contribution it can play to developing our collective power and overcoming capitalism. Organisations mentio...

In this episode of Living the Dream Dave (@withsobersenses) chats with Kieran (@Kieran Bennett) about a recent Melbourne counter-rally to a Trump celebration rally  ostensibly organised by #altright types and attended by local fascists and neo-Nazis. From here Kieran lets us know who is who in the fascist zoo in Australia, the social phenomena behind the far-right and we discuss what a relevant an...

In this episode of Living The Dream Jon (@jonpiccini) and Dave (@withsobersenses) talk about the US Election and the phenomenon of Donald Trump. We aren’t interest so much is speculations about what is going on in the US but rather what the different ways Trump and Clinton are talked about in Australia tells us about what is going on in Australia.   Articles we refer to include:   Debating Deplora...

In this episode of Living the Dream Dave (@withsobersenses) chats with Angus from the Queer Liberation Front. Angus lets us know what the QLF are all about, what they have been doing and what they are up to. Angus talks about the QLF's praxis and how this collective of young queer people are attempting to generate a radical anticapitalist politics, how hegemony and aesthetics fit together and how...

In this episode of LivingThe Dream Jon (@jonpiccini) and Dave (@withsobersenses) have a chat aboutthe recent election. It isn’t a chat about if the result is ‘good’ or ‘bad’but rather how does it fit into, and what does it tell us, about the current momentin capitalism in Australia and class struggle? We also try to work out therelationship between the electoral return of Pauline Hanson and the de...

In this episode of Living the Dream Jon (@JonPiccini ) andDave (@withsobersenses) chat with Anna – all-round good egg and comrade pivotalto Radio Reversal  and Brisbane Free University –about the successful Brisbane City Council election campaign of Jonathan Sri , the opposition to the WestVillage development and the emergence of struggles around the Right to theCity. What’s going on, how do all t...

In this episode of Living the Dream Jon (@JonPiccini) and Dave( @withsobersenses) talk about the meltdown of politics in Queensland and the failure of the ALP government to carry out a coherent plan to address the decline in capital accumulation and facilitate social reproduction.  Rob Pyne resigning from Labor (#corbynofcairns ?), candidates sending dicks pics and the shared anti-political langua...

In this episode of Living the Dream Dave (@withsobersenses) chats with Camilla and Eliza from Sovereignty Solidarity. Sovereignty Solidarity describes their Facebook page as follows: ‘We aim to support First Nations(FN) initiatives for self determination, sovereignty, treaties, and moving forward. We take action based on our understanding of these perspectives and aim to concretely support FN init...

Living the Dream: Welfare, Social Reproduction and Social Impact Bonds   In this episode Dave (@withsobersenses) and Rob talk about how the provision of welfare and social services are changing. We chat about the concept of social reproduction, the welfare state and its evolution and critically investigate new developments. As the mining boom ends, the world teeters on a the edge of another econom...

In this episode Jon (@jonpiccini) and Dave (@withsobersenses) chat with Jackson who has been an organiser with  AYCC  and for the  Peoples Climate March in Brisbane  . We talk about the opposition to the Adani mine project, the PCM, some of the experiences and developments within the climate justice movement, the role NGOs play and how this fits together with a broader understanding of capitalism...

In this episode Dave (@withsobersenses) and Jon (@jonpiccini) take some time to reflect on 2015 and go through the entrails to make some predictions about 2016. What happened in 2015 and what does it tell us about capitalism and the struggle against it? And how do we even try to make sense of it all? Articles and writers mentioned are: A panel on the work of Lisa Vogel’s   Marxism and The Oppressi...

On this show Jon (@JonPiccini) and Dave (@withsobersenses) talk about what is going on in Queensland under the ALP.  We look at the attempt to fund social reproduction and stimulate capital accumulation in the conditions of the end of the mining boom - all whilst trying to manufacture social peace. Special attention is given to the Advance Queensland initiative. 

Today Jon (@JonPiccini) and Dave (@withsobersenses) will be talking about two recent articles by Jon that trace the changes in key concepts in the languages of activism and the Left (for lack of better terms) and the reasons for and the potential costs of these changes.   The articles discussed are: Human Rights and the Left and Damned Whores and God’s Police, liberation and the power of activist...

After months of silence Living the Dream podcasts are back. Here we look at the prominence of conspiracy theories, what it is about contemporary capitalism that gives rise to them and what this means for anti-capitalist politics. Music from Chumbawamba , Total Control , Voight-Kampff , Belgrado , Grey Places and Downtown Boys

In this episode of Living the Dream we look at the recent Qld election and try to grapple with what it all means, what the new ALP government is planning to do, what the challenges facing capital accumulation are and where the lines of antagonism may be. Music from The Saints and Tina Harris Articles referred include: Don't Beware Greeks Bearing Gifts Of Lessons For The Left   Economic and Fiscal...

In part four of our three part series on the Qld election we talk about what can we expect after the votes have been counted and what does this mean for emancipatory politics, where can we draw our hope and power from and what do we mean by ‘we’ anyway? Music by Razar

Here in part 3 of our #livingthedream election special Rob reflects on the experience of  Qld Uncut  and the lessons that can be learnt for social struggles for dignity and emancipation whoever wins the upcoming election. First track from  http://rokumusic.com