Jacobin Radio

Noam Chomsky and Vijay Prashad, two of the left's most brilliant critics of US empire, sit down with Jacobin Show's Ariella Thornhill to discuss their new book The Withdrawal. To Chomsky and Prashad, US global power acts much the same way a Godfather rules over a Mafia family, imposing its interests on all who stand in its way domestically or internationally. The wide-ranging discussion touches on American exceptionalism, Military Keynesianism, the roadblocks for a new Iran Nuclear Deal, and the implications of Nancy Pelosi's recent visit to Taiwan. We are also joined by Ben Fong to discuss how Big Pharma is licking its chops at the prospects of psychedelic legalization next year, and Jen and Cale try to make sense of the Gen-Z trend of quiet quitting at work.The Jacobin Show is a weekly YouTube show offering socialist perspectives on class and capitalism in the twenty-first century, the failures of liberalism, and the prospects of rebuilding a left labor movement in the US. Music by Zonkey. This is the podca

Our Superdelegate patron tier was mad as hell that we hadn't yet discussed Sidney Lumet and Paddy Chayefsky's NETWORK (1976) and wasn't going to take it anymore. We watched an American classic and discovered that Howard Beale's famous speech isn't even the most important speech in the movie.Michael and Us is a podcast about political cinema and our crumbling world hosted by Will Sloan and Luke Savage.

Doug interviews Leigh Phillips on why nuclear power has to be part of any serious decarbonization program. Volodymyr Ishchenko discusses Putin’s invasion of Ukraine as part of a bid to consolidate power—and how the ruling classes of both countries are political capitalists of a sort unknown in the West.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 here: https://www.leftbusinessobserver.com/Radio.html

Suzi talks to economic historian Robert Brenner to get his understanding of this strange economic moment. What makes it strange? Inflation has dampened spending, the economy is shrinking, and many call it "shaky." Yet profits are strong and soaring, especially in the energy sector, in part because of Russia’s war on Ukraine. And job growth continues. Despite wage increases, workers’ wages overall are still lagging, but CEO pay is skyrocketing—and the Fed continues to raise interest rates to curb inflation. Are they trying to induce a “mild” recession, avoid one, or what? The moment is unique because of the pandemic, supply chain blockages and shortages, and Russia’s war wreaking havoc on the world economy. We get Robert Brenner’s analysis. Jacobin Radio with Suzi Weissman features conversations with leading thinkers and activists, with a focus on labor, the economy, protest movements.

Dina Khoury joins Long Reads for the second in a two-part conversation about Iraq since the US occupation. Dina is a historian of the Middle East, and her books include Iraq in Wartime.Listen to part one here: https://shows.acast.com/jacobin-radio/episodes/long-reads-us-destruction-of-iraq-part-1Read her piece for Catalyst, "Iraq After US Occupation," here: https://catalyst-journal.com/2021/09/iraq-after-us-occupationLong 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.

Featuring Kojo Koram on his brilliant book Uncommon Wealth: Britain and the Aftermath of Empire. How neoliberalism reorganized colonial capitalist plunder to survive the Third Worldist challenge, and then boomeranged back into the British metropole—a history obscured by rendering “decolonization” into a symbolic culture war battle.  Check out How to Sell a Poison: The Rise, Fall, and Toxic Return of DDT by Elena Conis hachettebookgroup.com/titles/elena-conis/how-to-sell-a-poison/9781645036753/ Support The Dig at Patreon.com/TheDig

Cale Brooks and Jen Pan discuss what is in the Inflation Reduction Act, the dregs of Biden’s Build Back Better plan that corporate Democrats felt they could sign onto, Matthew Cunningham-Cook outlines how the Biden admin has quietly expanded many of the policies from Trump’s Medicare privatization schemes, Rachel Cohen of Vox covers some positive developments in public housing at the state level, and Deepankar Basu tells us why we all need to learn a little more Marxist economics.The Jacobin Show is a weekly YouTube show offering socialist perspectives on class and capitalism in the twenty-first century, the failures of liberalism, and the prospects of rebuilding a left labor movement in the US. Music provided by Zonkey. This is the podcast version of the episode from August 10, 2022.

This week, Grace speaks to Adrienne Buller, author of The Value of a Whale: On the Illusions of Green Capitalism. They discuss what "green capitalism" actually is, how it is being embedded in international law, whether or not it is an inherently anti-democratic movement, and how it is linked to issues today like the cost-of-living crisis.A World to Win is a podcast from Grace Blakeley and Tribune bringing you a weekly dose of socialist news, theory, and action with guests from around the world. Thanks to our producer Conor Gillies and to the Lipman-Miliband Trust for making this episode possible.

Doug speaks with Simon Kuper, Financial Times columnist and author of Chums, on the upper-class caste that’s been ruling Britain for a decade. Then, an interview with James Meadway, director of the Progressive Economy Forum, on the dispiriting economics of the leader of the Labour Party, the drab Kier Starmer.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 here: https://www.leftbusinessobserver.com/Radio.html

Many movies in the 1980s depicted American urban landscapes as lawless hellholes, but Paul Verhoeven's ROBOCOP (1987) was unique for locating the source of the problem in the corporate world. The Superdelegate patron tier has voted for us to watch one of the most beloved screen satires of all time, and we were happy to oblige.See cohost Will introduce a screening of Don't Let the Riverbeast Get You (2013) at Toronto's Fox Theatre on August 23 - https://www.foxtheatre.ca/movies/dont-let-the-riverbeast-get-you-10th-anniversary/Order cohost Luke's book The Dead Center - https://www.orbooks.com/catalog/the-dead-center/Michael and Us is a podcast about political cinema and our crumbling world hosted by Will Sloan and Luke Savage.

This week, Grace speaks to Phil Burton-Cartledge, author of Falling Down: The Conservative Party and the Decline of Tory Britain, about the current leadership contest within the Conservative Party. They discuss why there's a dearth of Tory talent, why both candidates, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, are trying to model themselves on Margaret Thatcher, and whether they have any answers to long-term issues facing both the party itself and the UK as a whole.A World to Win is a podcast from Grace Blakeley and Tribune bringing you a weekly dose of socialist news, theory, and action with guests from around the world. Thanks to our producer Conor Gillies and to the Lipman-Miliband Trust for making this episode possible.

This week on The Jacobin Show, Jen Pan and Cale Brooks discuss America's pitiful "industrial policy," Paul Prescod discusses the upcoming teamsters contract fight, Matt Huber talks about Joe Manchin and the climate bill, and Branko Marcetic tells us why the Democrats, despite their rhetoric, are failing to do anything about the Jan 6 assault on the capitol.The Jacobin Show is a weekly YouTube show offering socialist perspectives on class and capitalism in the twenty-first century, the failures of liberalism, and the prospects of rebuilding a left labor movement in the US. Music provided by Zonkey. This is the podcast version of the episode from August 3, 2022.

In 1984, Godzilla rose from Tokyo Bay for the first time in nine years for THE RETURN OF GODZILLA. In 1985, an American distributor dramatically recut the movie into GODZILLA 1985. We're joined at long last by Important Cinema Club co-host Justin Decloux to discuss the many structural and ideological changes that were imposed upon Godzilla's big comeback.Michael and Us is a podcast about political cinema and our crumbling world hosted by Will Sloan and Luke Savage.

Doug interviews Paolo Gerbaudo on the failure of technocracy and the imminence of right-wing rule in Italy. Then Chris Bohner, author of a recent report called Labor's Fortress of Finance and a Jacobin article, "Now Is the Time for Unions to Go on the Offensive," discusses the huge stash unions have but aren't spending.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 here: https://www.leftbusinessobserver.com/Radio.html

Featuring Matt Christman on how American history brought us to this awful present. Support this podcast at Patreon.com/TheDig 

Dina Khoury joins Long Reads for a two-part conversation about Iraq since the US occupation. Dina is a historian of the Middle East, and her books include Iraq in Wartime.Listen to part two here: https://shows.acast.com/jacobin-radio/episodes/long-reads-us-destruction-of-iraq-part-2Read her piece for Catalyst, "Iraq After US Occupation," here: https://catalyst-journal.com/2021/09/iraq-after-us-occupationLong 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.

Suzi talks to Ukrainian expert Bohdan Krawchenko, just back from Kyiv, to get his perspective of the state of Russia’s war on Ukraine. The view from Ukraine, as Bohdan Krawchenko reports, is that Russia is losing this war, has wasted thousands of lives, and is running out of troops and war materiel. Despite their huge costs and losses, Moscow is getting more aggressive and brutal. Many Ukrainians in the occupied territories of the Donbas region have been forcibly deported to Russia or sent to "filtration" camps. We get Bohdan Krawchenko’s assessment and analysis of the current situation and prospects.

This week's episode of The Jacobin Show tackles Du Bois's legacy as an analyst of class domination in America, whether the Democratic Party is hurtling toward doom as continues to fail working-class voters, and why the recent wave of union campaigns must move from spontaneity to sustained "structure-based" organizing.Jeff Goodwin on Du Bois: https://catalyst-journal.com/2022/06/black-reconstruction-as-class-warSam Gindin on structure-based union organizing: https://jacobin.com/2022/07/amazon-starbucks-union-organizing-strategyMusic provided by Zonkey: https://linktr.ee/zonkeyThe Jacobin Show is a weekly YouTube show offering socialist perspectives on class and capitalism in the twenty-first century, the failures of liberalism, and the prospects of rebuilding a left labor movement in the US. This is the podcast version of the episode from July 27, 2022.

Jennifer Berkshire discusses Pete Hegseth, Christopher Rufo, and the right’s latest fronts in their war on public education. Then, Peter Korotaev looks at the political economy of Ukraine, before, during, and after the war.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 here: https://www.leftbusinessobserver.com/Radio.html

Alexandra Pelosi strikes again! In her documentary SAN FRANCISCO 2.0 (2015), the political scion turns her attention to her home city, gazing with awe upon the tech industry's sudden takeover while registering some tepid notes of ambivalence about the gentrification that has priced many longtime residents out. We discuss why, despite being Nancy Pelosi's daughter who regularly makes films for HBO, nobody seems to know about Alexandra Pelosi.Michael and Us is a podcast about political cinema and our crumbling world hosted by Will Sloan and Luke Savage.