Chris, Jason, Kevin, Ben

The Regrettable Century

Society EN ↓ 373 episodes

The old forms of the Left are moribund and the new forms are stupid. We’re making a podcast that discusses the need to organize a Dialectical Pessimism and develop a salvage project capable of sparking a new workers’ movement for socialism. A clean, honest, and unsentimental melancholy is required; we are cultivating one and would like to share it with you.

Author

Chris, Jason, Kevin, Ben

Category

Society

Latest episode

Jul 11, 2026

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Episodes

PATREON PREVIEW: Regrettable Geopolitics 03/23/2025 24.03.2025

Regrettable Geopolitics - 03/23/2025 (Israel Turns the Genocide Machine Back On, Yemen/Iran, Kursk, Other Ukraine Things, and Cease-Fire Talks) Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

Patreon Preview: Patron Q&A #2 19.03.2025

Finally, the long-awaited second Q&A episode. We talk USSR, religion, parenting, and all sort of other stuff... but some of it will have to wait until Q&A #3, which will be soon. Enjoy! Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

Bring the Race-War Home: Foreign Fighters, Neo-Nazi Networks, and Domestic Terrorism 17.03.2025

This week Chris and Jason read and discussed a paper Chris wrote for a strategic studies project about neo-Nazi terror networks and their links to far-right militias in Ukraine.  The influx of foreign fighters to Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion of 2022 has outpaced US intel and law enforcement agencies' ability to monitor potential radicals going to and coming from Ukraine. Far...

PATREON PREVIEW: Regrettable Geopolitics -- 03/09/2025 (a little Syria, a little Europe, and a lot of Russia/Ukraine) 12.03.2025

Another lightly edited casual conversation about geopolitics. We do a whirlwind summary of the stuff that has happened since last week and land back on the subject of Ukraine for most of the program. Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

From Dawn to Decadence (Part III): With Varn Vlog *UNLOCKED* 11.03.2025

The boys and Varn Vlog are back again, talking about "Decadence Theory" and how it differs from "crisis theory" and "breakdown theory." We discuss Samir Amin's third-worldist (and not very Marxist) take on decadence theory. Revolution or Decadence- Samir Amin https://monthlyreview.org/2018/05/01/revolution-or-decadence/ Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the...

PATREON PREVIEW: Regrettable Geopolitics 03/01/2025 (Ukraine: Trump vs Zelensky, Manpower Crisis, Dictatorship, Attritional Warfare) 03.03.2025

Welcome to a new series that we are trying out for Patrons. This is a lightly edited casual conversation between Jason and Chris about Geopolitics. We aren't really preparing for these by doing a lot of research and we certainly aren't doing much editing. We are going to try to do these semi-regularly and hopefully we can figure out how to do video versions as well. Send us a message (sorry we can...

The Neverending Pursuit of Truth: T.G. Masaryk’s Challenge to Marxism 24.02.2025

This week we discussed the thought of one of 20th-century Marxism's socialist opponents, Tomáš Masaryk. Masaryk was reviled by Czech communists until they appropriated him and he was an opponent of capitalism until the champions of capitalism did the same. He was a social democrat with an ethical and Christian-humanist vision of socialism that inspired the Prague Spring but was later coopted by th...

Patreon Preview -- A Refutation of All Judgements... (A Discussion of the film by Guy Debord) 19.02.2025

So, you think you had some judgments? TOO BAD THEY ARE ALL REFUTED! This week Jason and Andrew watched and discussed Guy Debord's follow up to his Society of the Spectacle film, which is essentially a clapback at his haters. As any good Regrettable discussion goes, the film was the anchor, but the topics ranged far and wide. Enjoy! Refutation of All the Judgements, Pro or Con, Thus Far Rendered on...

In Defense of Proletarian Idealism 11.02.2025

This week we read and discussed an article by Richard Seymour that explores Marxism's relationship with materialism and idealism. Seymour argues that the Hegelian inheritance within Marxism forces it in the direction of an idealism which is essential for a successful revolutionary politics. Duel and duality, or, degrowth and dialectics https://www.patreon.com/posts/81735357?pr=true&fbclid=IwAR...

Patreon Preview -- Question of Nationalities & Social Democracy by Otto Bauer: Regrettable Book Club (Episode IX) 06.02.2025

The gang tackles Chapter 5 of Bauer's analysis of the concept of the nation. Read Along With Us:  https://libcom.org/article/question-nationalities-and-social-democracy-otto-bauer Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

Partisans of a Dying Dream: The Populist Moment and American Socialism 27.01.2025

This week we delve into what is sort of a pre-history of the American Socialist movement. Though the populist movement undeniably kept its Jeffersonian character, it was the first (arguably only) significant challenge to the dominance of the two major capitalist parties in the US. Much of the energy and the spirit of American populism flowed into and colored the burgeoning American workers' moveme...

Patreon Preview -- From Dawn to Decadence (Part III): With Varn Vlog 22.01.2025

The boys and Varn Vlog are back again, talking about "Decadence Theory" and how it differs from "crisis theory" and "breakdown theory." We discuss Samir Amin's Third-Worldist (and not very Marxist) take on decadence theory. Revolution or Decadence- Samir Amin https://monthlyreview.org/2018/05/01/revolution-or-decadence/ Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the...

Patreon Preview -- The Question of Nationalities & Social Democracy by Otto Bauer (Episode VIII) 16.01.2025

The gang tackles Chapter 4 of Bauer's analysis of the concept of the nation... Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

Our Regrettable Trash Can of Ideology 09.01.2025

This week we entered the archives and poured through the codices and scrolls containing the wisdom of past episodes to give you this curated trash can of Ideology. We highlighted some themes from the past six years of podcasting that we thought were worth underscoring and how our ideas may have changed... Our Underlying Philosophy of Dialectical Pessimism S1/Ep5: Pessimism of the Intellect, Pessim...

Patreon Preview -- Film Review: The Society of the Spectacle (w/Grindhaus Podcast) 02.01.2025

This is an old episode of our friend Andrew's podcast that was recorded a few years ago. The podcast is now defunct, but we thought y'all deserved to hear it. In this episode Jason and Andrew watched and discussed Guy Debord's 1974 film version of The Society of the Spectacle. Enjoy and Happy New Year. Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Centu...

The Long, Slow Death of the 5th Republic 26.12.2024

We are joined again by our official France correspondent, Matthew. Matthew is a veteran of American Trot sectarian organizing and the labor movement who lives in France and is more intimately involved in the happenings than we are.  We discuss the failure of the popular front, the ham-fisted triumph of Macron, and the death throes of the French political system.  Send us a message (sorry we can't...

Patreon Preview -- The Question of Nationalities & Social Democracy by Otto Bauer (Episode VII) 19.12.2024

Soldiering on and finishing Chapter 3 of Bauer's excellent Marxist analysis of the nation. Read along with us: https://libcom.org/article/question-nationalities-and-social-democracy-otto-bauer Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

Patreon Preview -- Books Chris Read in Grad School: The Peculiarities of German History 13.12.2024

This week, we read and discussed Eley and Blackbourn's indispensable discussion of the Sonderweg, or special path, of German history. It is often said that Germany's path to the Holocaust begins with the failure of the bourgeois revolution to take hold. This book posits a top-down Bonapartist "revolution" led by Otto von Bismarck which thoroughly bourgeoisified German society from the top to the b...

Class Struggle & Christian Love: Herbert McCabe & Marxist Christianity 04.12.2024

Kicking off Year VII, Chris and Ben are joined by Daniel Saunders to discuss Herbert McCabe's Class Struggle and Christian Love. The intention was also to cover pieces by Dennis Turner and Terry Eagleton but time got away from them, so Daniel will have to return again... Herbert McCabe: The Class Struggle and Christian Love https://www.christiansocialism.com/2020/05/14/herbert-mccabe-class-struggl...

Year VI In Review: More Geopolitics but Finally Also Podcast & Personal Stuff (II of II) 28.11.2024

The long-awaited part two of our year six in review episode. We kick it off with a little geopolitical discussion but get around to discussing our personal lives and the podcast.  Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

From Dawn to Decadence (Part II): With Varn Vlog *UNLOCKED* 20.11.2024

We are back at it again talking decadence theory with Varn. This week, we dig into Samir Amin's piece from Monthly Review. We discussed the following materials: Morley, Neville. "Decadence as a Theory of History." New Literary History, Vol. 35, No. 4, Forms and/of Decadence (Autumn, 2004), pp.573-585  Decadence: The Theory of Decline or the Decline of Theory? https://libcom.org/library/decadence-a...

Year VI In Review: US Elections, Gaza, & Ukraine (Part I of II) 13.11.2024

As we wrap up another year of podcasting, we offer our expert opinions on everything that sucks about the world. Stay tuned for part II.  Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

Patreon Preview -- The Question of Nationalities & Social Democracy by Otto Bauer (Episode VI) 08.11.2024

The long march through the text continues as the gang tackles chapter three. Read along here: https://libcom.org/article/question-nationalities-and-social-democracy-otto-bauer  Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

The Socialism of Fools: Weimar National Bolshevism & Strasserism (Part II of II) 04.11.2024

This is part two of a discussion based on a paper Chris wrote about the concept of "German Socialism" from which groups like the NSDAP, the National Bolsheviks, Conservative Revolutionaries, and Black Front draw the basis for their ideologies.  Mosse, George Lachmann. The Crisis of German Ideology. 1964. Reprint, New York: Schocken, 1981.  King, John. “Writing and Rewriting the First World War: Er...

Patreon Preview -- Boundless & Bottomless Seas: Dugin’s 4th Political Theory (Part VIII) 03.11.2024

The boys dive in to Dugin's thoughts on civilization, colonialism, and imperialism. Don't worry, there are literally no digressions and the guys stay on point the whole time. Check out the full episode here: https://www.patreon.com/c/theregrettablecentury Check out Varn Vlog here: https://www.patreon.com/varnvlog/posts Check out Antifada here: https://www.patreon.com/theantifada Send us a message...

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