SPS

In this episode of Shit Platypus Says, members Laurie R, Cam H, and Ethan L dig into the archives for a wide-ranging conversation on Cuba. Together, they trace Cuba’s historical role in the socialist imagination and ask what the latest crisis means in the shadow of the twentieth century. Their discussion is interspersed with highlights from an interview members Ben K. and Mohammad H. conducted wit...

Lisa talks with Natalie, Ben, and Farsad, the organizers of our upcoming annual convention. See you in Chicago! ----- 18th ANNUAL PLATYPUS CONVENTION 1776, 2006, 2026: Marxism and the Fate of the American Revolution April 9-11, 2026 Chicago, IL https://www.platypus.events/ ----- www.platypus1917.org

This episode was recorded in the summer of 2025, before the current protests in Iran. Itsi sat down with Platypus members Stanley Sharpey and Ian Morrison to talk about the history of the Left in Iran and the significance of the Iranian Revolution for the Left. We touch on Ervand Abrahamian’s book "Iran Between Two Revolutions," which was read in the early days of Platypus, along with other works...

This New Years' episode of SPS comes in two parts. In the first, co-hosts Pam N. and Itsï R. take up the Epstein files. What is this about? What does it have to do with the Left? And what does it have to do with political reality? We discuss. In the second part, Itsï and Pam sit down with Marco T. to talk about the new Paul Thomas Anderson film, One Battle after Another (2025). We treat the film a...

On this episode of SPS, we talk about all things Mamdani -- the new DSA mayor of New York City. Your host Pamela N. sits down with former co-host Laurie R., Platypus president Erin H., and our New York member Benjamin K. -- one of the organizers of the recent Platypus Mamdani panel in NYC. We give our impressions of the Oval Office press conference, after the first Trump and Mamdani meeting, and w...

This mini-episode is a teaser for our eighth European Conference, soon to be held in Leipzig. Lisa sits down with the organizers to discuss the program for the weekend. See you there! Details as follows: VIII. Annual Platypus European Conference What's Left of Europe? 13th-15th November 2025 Leipzig, Germany Highlights include panel discussions on the French Revolution and the state of the Europea...

Pam, Andreas, Bekah, and Itsï from our editorial team discuss the state of the Left, how Platypus proceeds in such an atmosphere, and the opportunities for education in the present. This is a prelude to Lisa's conversation about a Reading Group on Chris Cutrone's book, The Death of the Millennial Left, organized by members Elli (Leipzig) and Nezam (Munich). They are joined by our contact Anna, as...

Bekah welcomes back SPS's resident financial guru to discuss the impact of Trump's tariffs on the state of world finances, markets, and leftist politics on both sides of the Atlantic. --- Further Materials: What is the Relevance of the EU for the Left? (Leipzig, 06/24): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DlJpbdI4rs Tariffs, Trade War & the Working Class (Independent Labor Club of New York, 29.3.25):...

Lisa sits down with Erin, Danny, and Tim to discuss recent iterations of our Immigration & the Left Panel, as well as the trajectory of immigration politics from the Millennial Left to the present. --- IMMIGRATION & THE LEFT PANEL SERIES UC San Diego (5/22/25) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_KvcJddPp4 Columbia University (4/28/25) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DG4vBqNDQ4w University of Ill...

We're back with a long episode in two parts. In the first half, Pam, Natalie, and Ed reflect upon the closing plenary of the 2025 Platypus International Convention, "Is there a Left in the 21st Century?" which featured Andrew Hartman (author of Marx in America), Branko Marcetic (Democratic Socialists of America & Jacobin author), Chris Cutrone (Platypus), and Alex Higgins (Prometheus Journal). In...

Rebekah, Ismail, and Michael introduce the upcoming Platypus International Convention, featuring Bill Ayers, Chris Cutrone, Alex Higgins, Michael Kazin, Branko Marcetic, Dave McKerracher, and Pamela Nogales among many more speakers, teach-ins, and social events. Is There a Left in the 21st Century? April 3rd-5th Chicago, IL Full line-up available at https://www.platypus.events --- Check out our pa...

In this episode of Sh-t Platypus Says, we focus on the German politics in the present and since the aftermath of the New Left. In the first half, Lisa discusses the recent German elections results with Jule, Daron, and Andreas. What does the victory of Friedrich Merz's center-right CDU mean for the Left? In the second half, Lisa sits down with Therri, Marius, and Jo to reflect on our German langua...

Itsï and Johannes sit down with Chris Cutrone to reflect on last year's summer reading group, The Right for the Left. They discuss the historical difference between the Right and the Left, the prevalence of right-wing ideas on the Left, and how the Left conceded the contestation of ideas to the Right. The full syllabus can be found here: https://platypus1917.org/2024/05/08/summer-2024-readings-the...

Episode 71 comes in two parts: In the first, Pam sits down with Audrey and Itsï to discuss the assassination of United Healthcare's CEO, and what the Left has to say about it. They consider the historical anarchist tactic of the propaganda of the deed, and what Marxism had to say about it. In the second part, Lucy and Wentai interview Nina Power, a writer active since the 90s on the British Left....

In this episode, Pam sits down with Platypus members, Ethan and Gabe, to discuss Trump's reelection and the Republicans' victory in Congress, the Left's nostalgia for Bernie along with its efforts to "critique" the Democrats, and the new multiracial coalition behind the GOP. In the second part, Daniel and Itsï sit down with Carlos Garrido, Director of the Midwestern Marx Institute and Secretary of...

This episode comes in two parts. At the beginning of this year the PAS published its second installment of the Platypus Review Reader. This volume, in addition to Marxism in the Age of Trump and Chris Cutrone's recent publication The Death of the Millennial Left, are a curated selection of articles in our monthly publication spanning between 2013 and 2017. In the first segment, we present a roundt...

On this episode of SPS, Pamela N. and Platypus member Adrienne F. interview Nadine Strossen, an American legal scholar and civil liberties activist. Strossen served as the president of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) from 1991 to 2008; she is currently a senior fellow at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Education Expression (FIRE); and is the author of Free Speech: What Everyone...

On this episode of SPS, Sophia and Pam hammer out whether or not Kamala Harris IS brat. They discuss the Republican National Convention and the consolidation of the new Republican Party under Trump. In the main segment, Andreas W and Pam N. sit down with Platypus members Ali (Australian National University), Hayes (University of Chicago) and Eli (University of Leipzig) to reflect on the recent pro...

Episode 66 comes in two parts. In our first segment, Lisa sits down with German members Jan and Henry to discuss post-neoliberal transformations in German politics, understood through the AfD and Sahra Wagenknecht's split from Die Linke. In the second segment, Andony talks with fellow West Coast members Octavio, Colin, Ishmael, and Hoang about anarchism on the West Coast, reflecting on the Heart o...

Episode 65 comes in two parts: In the first segment, Andreas talks with Platypus members Clay (Chicago) and Ethan (Philadelphia) about the upcoming Platypus International Convention, taking place in Chicago April 4-7 under the title "What is Left after Trump?". They discuss the various panel topics of this year's 16th Platypus Convention as well as why we keep hosting them. More information can be...

In this episode of Shit Platypus Says, we introduce the first segment of Reds, a series examining the growth of new communist organizations around the world. Hosts Tamas, Lisa, and Rebekah discuss the impetus for such a series: the sudden growth of self-styled communist organizations after a decade of social democratic activity on the Left and a dissatisfaction with liberal politics; a related rev...

Andreas sits down with Berlin-based members Jakob and Tamas to discuss the upcoming sixth annual Platypus European Conference, set to take place January 25th through the 27th. Further info can be found at: https://100yearsafterlenin.com --- A century after Lenin’s death, the Platypus Affiliated Society aims to critically examine the legacy of the failure of world revolution. Our sixth annual Europ...

This special holiday episode of SPS comes in three parts: (1) In order to make sense of the present, Platypus is hosting an international series of panels "Left Perspectives on the Israel-Palestine Conflict". In the first segment, member Gabe G. and Pamela N. reflect on the first panel of the series, which took place at the University of Chicago. They take up disagreements as well as the assumed a...

We discuss this year's protests in France around police brutality, pension reform, and cost of living with our members Lucas from Bretagne and Paul from Vienna, as well as check in with Parisian protestors with Kristian. To stay up to date with Platypus France, get in touch at: platypusfrance [at] gmail [dot] com or visit: https://www.platypusfrance.org

On this special back-to-school episode of SPS, Pamela & Laurie discuss the recent Russell Brand controversy. Brand has been in the news lately, under some heat, as a result of public allegations of sexual assault and misconduct. We take this up in the context of the ongoing sex panic and the ongoing transformation of feminism after #metoo, which leads us to discuss the Barbie movie. On the second...