The Magnificast

It's time to get back to the heart of socialism. This week we're having a socialist revival by reading John Bellamy Foster's essay The Socialist Ideal from the Monthly Review (read it here! https://monthlyreview.org/2020/09/01/the-renewal-of-the-socialist-ideal/) We also get into what Pope Francis has to say about People's movements! It's a good one, folks! Intro Music by Amaryah Armstrong Outro m...

Dan Walden is a damn treasure, so we're bringing you an interview with him this week! In this episode, we talk with Dan about his writing for the Bias and Current Affairs as well as his participation in the recent strike at the University of Michigan. You can check out Dan's writing here https://www.currentaffairs.org/author/daniel-walden, https://christiansocialism.com/catholic-socialism-capitali...

Have you been wondering what's been going on with all these spooky conspiracy theories that your parents have been posting about on facebook? This week we're bringing you the scoop on Qanon and its connections to evangelicalism through an interview with Hollis Phelps! Check out Hollis' article on Q here: https://christiansocialism.com/qanon-trump-conspiracy-capitalism/ Intro Music by Amaryah Armst...

We've done a handful of episodes where we've talked about "the Christian left" as it exists according to the twitter dialogue, but what does it look like on the ground? As a special episode, we're dipping into how one church, Zao MKE Church in Milwaukee, has been engaging with and aiding ongoing struggles and protests in their communities. Learn more about the Zao community here https://www.facebo...

This week the Magnifiboys are joined by journalist Olga Segura (@OlgaMSegura) a reporter at The National Catholic Reporter and author of the forthcoming book The Birth of A Movement: Black Lives Matter and the Catholic Church. In this episode, we talk about the silence and sometimes antagonism of the Catholic Hierarchy with regards to Black Lives Matter and how Black Catholic Lay people have respo...

Last week we made the case for Christian anti-imperialism, but maybe we're getting too far ahead of ourselves! Christians can and have been anti-imperialists, but for most of history Christianity has been an imperializing force. Intro Music by Amaryah Armstrong Outro music by theillogicalspoon https://theillalogicalspoon.bandcamp.com/track/hoods-up-the-low-down-technified-blues *Support The Magnif...

Welcome to the Magnificast National Convention! In this episode, we elect a new presidential nominee for The Magnificast Party, we talk about anti-imperialism, colonialism, structural adjustment programs, and more! Intro Music by Amaryah Armstrong Outro music by theillogicalspoon https://theillalogicalspoon.bandcamp.com/track/hoods-up-the-low-down-technified-blues *Support The Magnificast on Patre...

We've all heard about 20th century socialism, but how about 21st century socialism? This week, Matt and Dean read Marta Harnecker's essay 21st Century Socialism from the Monthly Review. Harnecker was a Chilean political theorist and advisor to Hugo Chávez, the former president of Venezuela. Intro Music by Amaryah Armstrong Outro music by theillogicalspoon https://theillalogicalspoon.bandcamp.com/t...

This week, Matt and Dean talk with David Brazil and Sarah Pritchard from Abolition Apostles. David and Sarah share about their faith as well as their activism. You can get involved by following them on social media @AbolitionChurch. Intro Music by Amaryah Armstrong Outro music by theillogicalspoon https://theillalogicalspoon.bandcamp.com/track/hoods-up-the-low-down-technified-blues *Support The Ma...

What should come first for Christians? Politics or religion? Is there a truly biblical politics out there that transcends all politics? Or do we have to craft our politics and religion together? To get into these big questions, Matt and Dean read Juan Segundo's The Liberation of Theology. Intro Music by Amaryah Armstrong Outro music by theillogicalspoon https://theillalogicalspoon.bandcamp.com/tra...

Ammon Hennacy was *the* American Christian anarchist. He was a draft dodger, tax resister, vegetarian, Catholic, anarchist, wobbly, who did what he could to resist the US empire and care for the homeless. Recently, it was Hennacy's birthday, so we thought we'd pause and take a look at his life and testimony.

One of the big motivating ideas on the left is solidarity. But, what does that really mean? In this episode, Matt and Dean talk through David Roediger's essay Making Solidarity Uneasy: Cautions on a Keyword from Black Lives Matter to the Past. Intro Music by Amaryah Armstrong Outro music by theillogicalspoon https://theillalogicalspoon.bandcamp.com/track/hoods-up-the-low-down-technified-blues *Sup...

This past week, Angela Davis expressed the strategic importance of voting for Joe Biden in the upcoming election. Obviously, no one is super excited about that prospect, but she's not wrong. In this week's episode, Matt and Dean take a look at Lenin, The Black Panther Party, and the CPUSA's approach to voting. Intro Music by Amaryah Armstrong Outro music by theillogicalspoon https://theillalogical...

WHAT DOES JK ROWLING HAVE IN COMMON WITH THE IWW? Well, basically nothing, but they both were really invested in the fight for free speech, though for wildly different reasons. In this week's episode we're talking about the illiberal left, cancel culture, and how leftists have dealt with the freedom of speech. Intro Music by Amaryah Armstrong Outro music by theillogicalspoon https://theillalogical...

Over the past few weeks, we've seen activists tear down statues of confederate statues, that's pretty cool. But, they've also torn down a statue of a saint, is that cool? It is! In this episode, Matt and Dean talk about the current discourse around statues, Saints, Benjamin's philosophy of history and Marika Rose's Theology of Failure. Intro Music by Amaryah Armstrong Outro music by theillogicalsp...

This week on The Magnificast, Matt & Dean talk about Alex Vitale's book The End of Police and talk about why Christians on the left should care about police abolition. They also discuss Jamal Rich's take on abolition and communism. You can find the article here: https://www.cpusa.org/article/prison-and-police-abolition-reimagining-public-safety-and-liberation/ Intro Music by Amaryah Armstrong...

For the last few weeks, Matt and Dean have been making a bit o' patreon only content called The Lock In. Much like the classic church lock in, the Magnifiboys play some goofy games and then have a real "Come to Jesus" moment by talking about the current events of the past week. If you're into this content and want to get it weekly, then support to The Magnificast on patreon (patreon.com/themagnifi...

Even a few weeks ago, it would have been hard to imagine that everyone would be talking about police abolition, but here we are! You've read about it in the NYT, you've seen it hotly debated on twitter, and you've read the worst opinions about it on your mom's facebook page, but this week, Matt and Dean have got the real scoop on police abolition! Speaking with Micah Herskin, one of the co-creator...

This week on The Magnificast, Matt and Dean talk with Amaryah Shaye Armstrong about her new piece in The Bias (read it here: https://christiansocialism.com/cedric-robinson-racial-order-christianity-socialism/). In this episode, Amaryah helps us apply Cedric Robinson's ideas regarding racial capitalism and order to our current moment with regards to the Black Lives Matter protests. Intro Music by A...

Do you like stories about people who fearlessly speak truth to power? Of course you do. This week, Matt and Dean talk to Marcus Rediker about his book The Fearless Benjamin Lay: The Quaker Dwarf Who Became the First Revolutionary Abolitionist. You can get the book here: https://bookshop.org/books/the-fearless-benjamin-lay-the-quaker-dwarf-who-became-the-first-revolutionary-abolitionist-with-a-new-...

It seems like everyone is a labor reporter these days, even folks at the Gospel Coalition. Though, rather than talking about strikes and wages, they're talking about how to fire someone like Jesus would. In this episode, Matt and Dean investigate the ways Christians talk and think about labor and then bring in that hot Marxist analysis. Intro Music by Amaryah Armstrong Outro music by theillogicals...

Christians have a peculiar way of talking about politics--liberal evangelicals especially! In this episode, we take a closer look at the vague political rhetoric of the evangelical left and talk about the ways Marxist political analysis functions as a tool box for people who care about justice. Intro Music by Amaryah Armstrong Outro music by theillogicalspoon https://theillalogicalspoon.bandcamp.c...

I regret to inform you, the religious left discourse is back. Does the religious left exist? Yes, but it's different than the hot takes the religious left journalists have been giving on twitter. Listen to our own hot takes! Intro Music by Amaryah Armstrong Outro music by theillogicalspoon https://theillalogicalspoon.bandcamp.com/track/hoods-up-the-low-down-technified-blues *Support The Magnificas...

This week we did a round-up of some recent articles on racism and COVID19. These articles help us think through the big structural violence and class struggle embedded within capitalism. It's a bleak topic, but an important one! Intro Music by Amaryah Armstrong Outro music by theillogicalspoon https://theillalogicalspoon.bandcamp.com/track/hoods-up-the-low-down-technified-blues *Support The Magnif...

In past eps, we've talked about a lot of the cool leftist Christians involved in the Haymarket riot and the gilded age labor movement, but what about the shitty Christians? This week, we're bringing you a wild story about how Dwight L Moody massively profited from the Harmarket riot! Intro Music by Amaryah Armstrong Outro music by theillogicalspoon https://theillalogicalspoon.bandcamp.com/track/ho...