The Skeptical Leftist Podcast

In this episode, we're exploring the life and legacy of "the man who shook the world," J. Robert Oppenheimer. Our deep dive into Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin's American Prometheus takes us on a journey through the mind of the brilliant physicist who led the Manhattan Project. From his early academic days to his pivotal role in creating the atomic bomb, we'll unpack the comp...

In this episode Justin talks to us about Leninism Under Lenin by Marcel Liebman. We talk about the good and the bad, the revolutionary leader and the politician, all things Lenin.  You can get a copy of the book here - https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/908-leninism-under-lenin Check out Justin's links and follow him https://www.justinclark.org/ https://www.instagram.com/justinclarkph/ https...

Ok folks this is an interesting one, Kareem Maize is a former an-cap turned left sympathetic anarchist. He considers himself a Pluralist anarchist or a communalist and runs a website dedicated to the unification of varying anarchist tendencies. Take this as you will, I enjoyed the conversation and tried to really understand his perspective. I encourage you to follow him and check out his stuff. Se...

In this episode Justin talks to us about 5 revolutionary women courtesy of the book Red Valkyries by Kristen Ghodsee. We discuss Alexandra Kollontai, Nadezhda Krupskaya, Inessa Armand, Lyudmila Pavlichenko, and Elena Lagadinova, their stories and their impact on the world through their radical socialist feminist politics.  You can get a copy of the book here - https://www.versobooks.com/en-ca/prod...

In this interview I talked to Tori Glass, host of the podcast White Homework. We covered a variety of topics including theory, history, and current events. I highly recommend checking out White Homework and becoming a supporter on Patreon or Substack. Here are some links where you can find White Homework and Tori’s other work https://toriglass.substack.com/ https://www.toriglass.com/ https://x.com...

In this episode we talk science and socialism as we go through the scientific revolution that came from Darwin’s theory of evolution and Marx’s theory of socialism and how the two theories intersect.  Check out the book here https://www.marxists.org/archive/pannekoe/1912/marxism-darwinism.htm Check out Justin's links and follow him https://www.justinclark.org/ https://www.instagram.com/justinc...

In this episode I talked to Eron who runs the Youtube channel Re-Education. We talk about the importance of community building as well as the work he is doing with the Cathedral Community Fridge here in Regina. It sounds like Eron is planning to start making some videos again and he’s doing amazing organizing work around the community fridge. It was a great chat and I hope you enjoy it Here are so...

In this episode Justin and I talk about The Wartime Pamphlets of Gore Vidal. We go through some of the history of the violence of the United States and some of the wars that have been carried out in the name of “US interests”.  You can get copies of them here Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace: How we got to be so hated https://www.amazon.com/Perpetual-War-Peace-How-Hated/dp/156025405X (sorry for t...

In this episode I talked to Daniel about some of the arguments I’ve seen from non-leftists or non-anarchist leftists. We also talk a little bit about some of the great work that local organizers in my city and where Daniel is, are doing. Daniel is a great resource for information about anarchism and organizing and if you want to learn more you should definitely head over to his channel and subscri...

In this episode Justin talks to us about the book This Life by Martin Hagglund. We discuss heaven versus the finitude of life, secularism, and how it all ties in with socialism and the socialist project. You can get a copy of This Life from Penguin/Random House https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/248368/this-life-by-martin-hagglund/9781101873731 Check out Justin's links and follow him http...

In this interview I talked to Ali Horriyat, founder of Compassiviste. Ali left the lucrative, profit-driven world of finance in 2016 to devote himself to his vision of a society where compassion, empathy, and social impact are at the heart of our actions. In 2020, he launched Compassiviste to spread this vision. Born in Dubai, he attended schools in the UAE, France and Switzerland before pursuing...

In this episode Justin talks to us about the book Marxism in the United States by Paul Buhle and some of the history of socialism and some of the socialists that were active in the United States. Here’s a hint though for those conservatives that might come across this, Nancy Pelosi and Joe Biden aren’t on the list. We on the left don’t like them either.  You can get the book from Penguin Random Ho...

In this episode Justin and I talk about the book Road to Nowhere by Paris Marx. We go through some of the failures of big tech to solve the big problems of society including climate change and how the car culture that was developed in the name of profits ultimately isolated people and made us all less connected to our communities. Make sure to check out Paris’ website https://parismarx.com/ Get yo...

In this episode of Red Reviews Justin takes me through the book American Crusade by Andrew Seidel. We talk about the right wing take over of the Supreme Court of the United States and how corrupt they are and some of their bad decisions. You can get a copy through Andrew’s website https://andrewlseidel.com/american-crusade/# Check out Andrew’s full website and check out the FFRF https://andrewlsei...

In this interview I talked to Nikki EatKS who is a podcaster in the music scene and who has worked in radio and has many contacts within the music scene. We talked about some of the toxicity that comes when men act as gatekeepers and become apologists for sexual harassment and assault because they like a particular artist. We also talked about some general social justice issues and the Me Too move...

In this episode Justin talks to us about the book Reform or Revolution and other writings by Rosa Luxemburg. Between the history, the theory, and the debates between Luxemburg and other socialists this was a great look at one of the greatest socialist minds of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  If you can’t afford to buy the book we covered which is available here - https://www.amazon.ca/Ref...

In this episode Justin takes us through the book, The People’s Republic of Walmart , and the concept of a planned economy as well as planning in other areas of society as well. The People’s Republic of Walmart was written by Leigh Phillips and Michal Rozworski and uses Walmart as an example of how despite the rhetoric of pure unplanned free markets capitalism is actually very planned and society c...

In this extra long episode Justin and I talk about the book Revolutionary Affinities by Michael Löwy and Olivier Besancenot and translated by David Campbell. This book takes us through the history of Marxism and Anarchism when they agreed and when they didn't and helps us come to the conclusion that we have deep affinities with each other despite our differences and it can help us to make the...

*CW - discussion of sexual harassment and assault* In this episode I talked to Eiynah Nicemangos, host of the podcast Polite Conversations. Eiynah has been podcasting for a long time and does high quality work around the far right and the so-called intellectual dark web. Her series debunking and calling out Sam Harris for his bigotry is some of my favorite content covering Sam and the people like...

In this interview episode I talked to Nora Loreto, Nora is  a well known podcaster, writer, and journalist who has done amazing work covering politics from a left perspective. She did work on Covid that was truly instrumental to understanding the impact of the pandemic on Canadian long term care homes. She often doesn't get the credit she deserves but her books and her writing have been a huge...

In this episode Justin and I talk about the book, Health Communism . We talk about how American culture in particular is designed to leave people desperate and on the verge of bankruptcy so that there’s always a surplus of workers. We also talk about how this works with the dignity in dying movement. It’s a big topic and we barely touch on the surface so if you want more then check out the book or...

In this episode Justin and I talk about the book Chokepoint Capitalism by Rebecca Giblin and Cory Doctorow and as an extension we discuss some of the ways that capitalism and the drive for profit limits artists and can actually harm the creative process. We also spend some time thinking about Michael Brooks and the impact he had and how his absence has impacted the left over the last 3 years. Some...

In this episode I talked to the amazing Margaret Killjoy, anarchist author and podcaster. We talked about how she got into podcasting, how long she's been doing it, and why as well as what anarchism means to her and whether Kropotkin was wrong about World War One or not. It was a wonderful discussion and I hope you enjoy it. Check out all of Margaret's stuff at her linktree https://linktr....

This episode Justin and I talked about the book The S Word by John Nichols. It’s supposed to be a book about the history of American socialism but rather it seems to be a book about democratic socialism of the more reformist type. In this video Justin is very comfortable discussing American history and some of the figures discussed in the book. I think most of the names and information was new to...

This time around I talked to Zoe Baker aka Anarchopac about her recent book Means and Ends: The Revolutionary Practice of Anarchism in Europe and the United States . I tried to be very professional so that I could be deserving of such a brilliant guest but I'll let you be the judge of whether I succeeded or not. All of Zoe’s links are here ⁠ https://linktr.ee/zoebaker ⁠ All of my links are her...