Jacobin Radio

Suzi talks to Oscar Mendoza about the Popular Unity government of Salvador Allende that came to an abrupt and bloody end 50 years ago on September 11, 1973. Pinochet's coup inaugurated a wave of violence, death and repression that shocked the world—and sparked an enormous international solidarity movement as many thousands of Chileans were forced to leave their country, their families, and their dreams of a democratic, egalitarian future. Oscar Mendoza's life was upended on that day nearly 50 years ago, when, in his words, his carefree days of youth came to an abrupt halt, followed by detention, torture and imprisonment. Two years later, in May 1975, Oscar was expelled from Chile and exiled to Scotland as a political refugee, where I greeted him along with other members of the Chile Solidarity movement in Glasgow. We get Oscar’s overview of the Chilean revolutionary process from 1970-1973, one that posited a peaceful transition to socialism with vino tinto (red wine) and empanadas, using the ba

Featuring Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on the Latin American left and the long history of US intervention in the region.Support The Dig at Patreon.com/TheDigBuy War Made Invisible thenewpress.com/books/war-made-invisibleBuy Quick Fixes: Drugs in America from Prohibition to the 21st Century Binge versobooks.com/products/2981-quick-fixes

More than a century after her death in 1919, Rosa Luxemburg is unquestionably one of the most celebrated Marxist thinkers. But until very recently, most of her work had never appeared in English translation. Verso Books and the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation have set out to fill the gap by publishing her collected works. Peter Hudis, a professor of philosophy and humanities at Oakton Community College and the author of several books, including Frantz Fanon: Philosopher of the Barricades, is one of the editors who’s been working on that project.Peter joins Long Reads to discuss Luxemburg's collected works. Read his essays, "Rosa Luxemburg Anticipated the Destructive Impact of Capitalist Globalization" and "Rosa Luxemburg Was the Great Theorist of Democratic Revolution," on the Jacobin website.Long Reads is a Jacobin podcast looking in-depth at political topics and thinkers, both contemporary and historical, with the magazine’s longform writers. Hosted by features editor Daniel Finn. Produced by Conor Gillies. Music

Lisa Corrigan, author of a recent Nation article, explains what the savage cuts at West Virginia University mean for higher ed. Taylor Lorenz, author of Extremely Online, discusses the social history of the internet.Behind the News, hosted by Doug Henwood, covers the worlds of economics and politics and their complex interactions, from the local to the global. Find the archive online.

Featuring Amna Akbar, Gabriel Winant, and Thea Riofrancos on the emerging terrain of struggle. Is American liberalism exhausted or revitalized? What are the successes and limits of the new US left electoral strategy? Is there a new anti-electoral mood amongst socialists? Why don't we have a powerful climate movement? What forces are making and remaking the American working class today? The second and final part of a very wide-ranging interview.Support The Dig at Patreon.com/TheDigCheck out our newsletter and vast archives at thedigradio.comBuy Reform, Revolution, and Opportunism: Debates in the Second International, 1900-1910 haymarketbooks.org/books/2109-reform-revolution-and-opportunism

We've been talking about a lot of soulless, big-budget IP movies that represent a rot in our culture... so how about a how about a hand-crafted, achingly personal movie that exists as a wart on the back of that rot? We discuss Kevin Smith's CLERKS III (2022), a harrowing vision of Gen X culture trapped in amber."Awkward Americans see themselves in Ron DeSantis" by Ben Terris - https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2023/08/17/ron-desantis-awkward/"Talk is Cheap" by Nick Pinkerton - https://nickpinkerton.substack.com/p/talk-is-cheapMichael and Us is a podcast about political cinema and our crumbling world hosted by Will Sloan and Luke Savage.

Sohrab Ahmari, author of Tyranny, Inc., talks about the dictatorship of capital. Erin Reed, aka Erin in the Morning, discusses the state of trans politics.Behind the News, hosted by Doug Henwood, covers the worlds of economics and politics and their complex interactions, from the local to the global. Find the archive online.

After years of hearing from censors that violent media images cause harm, David Cronenberg made a movie... in which violent media images cause harm. We discuss VIDEODROME (1983) - its media satire, its sexual/gender politics, and its vision of how technology influences reality. PLUS: the Prime Minister enters the Barbieheimer discourse, and further thoughts on Sound of Freedom.Toronto listeners: see Will introduce Glen or Glenda at the Fox Theatre tonight (August 15) - https://www.foxtheatre.ca/movies/the-important-cinema-club-masterpiece-classics-glen-or-glenda/Michael and Us is a podcast about political cinema and our crumbling world hosted by Will Sloan and Luke Savage.

Francisco Pérez of the University of Utah talks about the CFA franc. Caitlin Chandler, author of a 2022 Harper's article about "the next frontier in the war on terror," discusses US interests in Niger.Behind the News, hosted by Doug Henwood, covers the worlds of economics and politics and their complex interactions, from the local to the global. Find the archive online.

Featuring Amna Akbar, Gabriel Winant, and Thea Riofrancos on the American conjuncture. Did an era that began with Occupy and Ferguson—marked by teachers strikes, two Bernie campaigns, the explosive growth of DSA, Standing Rock, and summer 2020 rebellions—just end? What social, political, and economic terrain is emerging in the wake of the pandemic, and how should the left navigate it? The first of a two-part and wide-ranging interview.  Support The Dig at Patreon.com/TheDig All Haymarket books are 40% off! Shop at haymarketbooks.org Buy After Work by Helen Hester and Nick Srnicek versobooks.com/products/496-after-work

When Simone de Beauvoir died in 1986, French TV news described her as a “symbol of women’s liberation,” but they couldn’t resist bracketing her name with that of Jean-Paul Sartre, her lifelong partner. Almost four decades later, Beauvoir’s reputation as a pioneering feminist thinker is well established. The main challenge she faces today is misunderstanding rather than neglect.Emma McNicol joins Long Reads to discuss Beauvoir’s work and legacy. Emma is a research fellow at the Monash Gender and Family Violence Prevention Centre.Read her piece for Jacobin, "Simone de Beauvoir Understood the Link Between Gender and Class Oppression," here: https://jacobin.com/2023/06/simone-de-beauvoir-second-sex-socialism-classLong Reads is a Jacobin podcast looking in-depth at political topics and thinkers, both contemporary and historical, with the magazine’s longform writers. Hosted by features editor Daniel Finn. Produced by Conor Gillies, music by Knxwledge.

Unfortunately, there was no avoiding it. We finally went to see the right-wing human-trafficking blockbuster SOUND OF FREEDOM (2023) and had one of our more unpleasant viewing experiences. We discuss the film's astroturfed box office, as well as the reasons for its very real cultural resonance."Tim Ballard Has ‘Stepped Away’ From Operation Underground Railroad, Org Says" by Anna Merlan - https://www.vice.com/en/article/k7z74x/tim-ballard-sound-of-freedom-operation-underground-railroad-stepped-awayMichael and Us is a podcast about political cinema and our crumbling world hosted by Will Sloan and Luke Savage.

Sara Goldrick-Rab talks about rampant food and housing insecurity among undergrad and grad students. David Broder, author of Mussolini's Grandchildren and a recent article in the New York Times, discusses the whitewashing of far-right Italian PM Giorgia Meloni.Behind the News, hosted by Doug Henwood, covers the worlds of economics and politics and their complex interactions, from the local to the global. Find the archive online.

Barry Eidlin returns to guest host, talking to San Diego Teamster Justin Alo, Detroit Teamster Emily Butt, and San Francisco Teamster John Elward about the tentative agreement reached on July 25 between the Teamsters Union and the shipping giant UPS, one week before the contract covering 340,000 workers across the US was set to expire on July 31. Talks broke down on July 5, and practice pickets were building towards what would have been one of the largest strikes in U.S. history.Teamsters leadership has hailed the UPS tentative agreement as “historic” and “game changing,” noting that it immediately eliminates a hated second-tier driver category, creates more full-time jobs, raises wages, limits surveillance, and ends forced overtime among other gains. But some Teamster members are concerned that the proposed agreement doesn't go far enough to address key demands, particularly around part-time pay. Many are also wondering what they left on the table by not going on strike.Rank and file UPS Teamsters Justin Alo

Reporter Dharna Noor learns about the Tennessee Valley Authority: the good, the bad, the past, and the future.This is the 5th episode of The Dig Presents.Produced by Dharna Noor. Edited by Liza Yeager and Mitchell Johnson.Support The Dig at patreon.com/thedigAll Haymarket books are 40% off! Shop at haymarketbooks.org

Tim Shorrock marks the 70th anniversary of the armistice that ended the Korean war as tensions mount across the region. Christopher Morten discusses how the drug industry uses patents and secrecy to fatten its profits at the expense of patients and the broader public.Behind the News, hosted by Doug Henwood, covers the worlds of economics and politics and their complex interactions, from the local to the global. Find the archive online.

For almost fifty years, Portugal was ruled by a right-wing dictatorship. There was a military coup against Portuguese democracy in 1926. Antonio Salazar became the leader of the so-called Estado Novo in the same year Franklin Roosevelt entered the White House. His successor Marcelo Caetano was still in power when Richard Nixon was re-elected four decades later.Then, in April 1974, a group of junior army officers made a plan to overthrow the dictatorship. The Carnation Revolution brought down the Estado Novo and kick started a period of intense political upheaval. Its legacy can still be felt in Europe half a century later.Raquel Varela, professor of history at the New University in Lisbon and author of several books, including A People’s History of the Portuguese Revolution, joins Long Reads for a discussion about the upheaval and its legacy.Read Raquel's 2019 interview with Jacobin: https://jacobin.com/2019/04/portugal-carnation-revolution-national-liberation-aprilLong Reads is a Jacobin podcast looking in-d

So, why do they call it "the little death"? Will is joined by film critic Adam Nayman to discuss Claire Denis's transgressive masterpiece TROUBLE EVERY DAY (2001) and how it scandalized film culture circa 2001. PLUS: What is it like to teach the history of satire at a university?Follow Adam Nayman on Twitter and find his books here.Michael and Us is a podcast about political cinema and our crumbling world hosted by Will Sloan and Luke Savage.

Gabriel Hetland, author of Democracy on the Ground, talks about contrasts in popular participation between Bolivia and Venezuela. Then Doug speaks with Leigh Cowart, author of Hurts So Good, on seeking out pain for pleasure.Behind the News, hosted by Doug Henwood, covers the worlds of economics and politics and their complex interactions, from the local to the global. Find the archive online.

Featuring Daniela Gabor, Ted Fertik, and Tim Sahay on Bidenomics. We define and debate the new American industrial policy, the energy transition, the New Cold War with China—and more.Support this podcast with a contribution at Patreon.com/TheDigSubscribe to The Polycrisis newsletter phenomenalworld.org/series/the-polycrisisBuy Travellers of the World Revolution versobooks.com/products/2938-travellers-of-the-world-revolutionBuy War Made Invisible thenewpress.com/books/war-made-invisible