Rev Left Radio

In this episode, Alyson joins members of the Ultra-Red collective to discuss their recent trip to Central America where they learned first hand about popular education movements of the past and present. The discussion gets into the history of popular education, existing social movements in Central America today, and what we can learn from these movements in our organizing work. The journal of Ultra-Red can be found here:  https://www.rabrab.net/titles/urvol1?utm_campaign=as-npc105112516   ----------------------------------------------------   Learn more about, follow, and support Rev Left and Red Menace here: https://revleftradio.com/  

Breht went on How The Red Was Won to talk about the current state of the left, the contradictions of American trade unions, American geopolitics, and much more! From the original description: You know him. You love him. It's everyone's favorite Breht O'Shea from such fine podcasts as RevLeft Radio, The Red Menace, Shoeless in South Dakota, and more! We talk about what organizing in the USA looks like 2025 - from unions to the socialist orgs, mutual aid, resisting fascism, and raising anti-fascist kids.Part 2 here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-AxFA8SnBU

For over a century, the U.S. ruling class has waged war on communists, anarchists, and radicals. From the Palmer Raids of 1919 to McCarthyism in the 1950s, from COINTELPRO in the Cold War to today’s MAGA rhetoric about “woke communists" and his crackdown on "Antifa Radicals", state repression has always sought to crush revolutionary politics before they could take root; especially in times of capitalist crisis.  In this episode, historian Aaron J. Leonard joins us to discuss his new book Menace of Our Time: The Long War Against American Communism. We trace how the U.S. developed its arsenal of anti-radical laws and FBI surveillance programs, and how these were deployed against generations of activists, workers, and organizers. We talk about the Communist Party USA’s early growth, its leaders like William Z. Foster and Earl Browder, and its contradictory relationship with Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who both advanced social reforms hated by capitalists and cracked down on communists in his time. Leonard explains how McCarthyism and COINTELPRO not only repressed communists but created a climate where the majority of Americans came to accept mass violations of civil liberties in the name of anti-communism.  As Trump and the far right recycle the language of anti-communism to justify repression in 2025, Leonard argues that knowing this history is not just an academic exercise -- it’s a weapon for the struggles ahead. ---------------------------------------------------- Support Rev Left and get access to bonus episodes: www.patreon.com/revleftradio Make a one-time donation to Rev Left at BuyMeACoffee.com/revleftradio Follow, Subscribe, & Learn more about Rev Left Radio https://revleftradio.com/ Outro Beat Prod. by flip da hood

Breht speaks with veteran organizer, revolutionary strategist, and author Eric Mann. In this wide-ranging conversation, Mann reflects on his decades of struggle; from his early work with SNCC and SDS, through his involvement with the Weather Underground and his time as a political prisoner, to his rank-and-file organizing as a UAW autoworker. Along the way, Mann wrestles with the realities of repression and counterinsurgency, the need for disciplined cadre and a Black-led united front against imperialism, and the history of the Marxist Left in the 60's and 70's in the USA as told through his personal experiences. His story is both a living history of the U.S. Left and a revolutionary call for commitment and organization for a new generation of revolutionaries. More Biography of Eric Mann: Eric Mann (born December 4, 1942) is a civil rights, anti-war, labor, and environmental organizer. He has worked with the Congress of Racial Equality, Newark Community Union Project, Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), the Black Panther Party, the United Automobile Workers (including eight years on auto assembly lines) and the New Directions Movement. He was also active as a leader of SDS faction the Weathermen, which later became the militant left-wing organization Weather Underground. He was arrested in September 1969 for participation in a direct action against the Harvard Center for International Affairs and sentenced to two years in prison on charges of conspiracy to commit murder after two bullets were fired through a window of the Cambridge police headquarters on November 8, 1969. He was instrumental in the movement that helped to keep a General Motors assembly plant in Van Nuys, California open for ten years. Mann has been credited for helping to shape the environmental justice movement in the U.S. He founded the Labor/Community Strategy Center in Los Angeles, California and has been its director for 25 years. In addition, Mann is founder and co-chair of the Bus Riders Union, which sued the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority for what it called “transit racism”, resulting in a precedent-setting civil rights lawsuit, Labor Community Strategy Center et al. v. MTA. Mann is the author of books published by Beacon Press, Harper & Row and the University of California, which include Taking on General Motors; The Seven Components of Transformative Organizing Theory; and Playbook for Progressives: 16 Qualities of the Successful Organizer. He is known for his theory of transformative organizing and leadership of political movements and is acknowledged by many as an veteran organizer on the communist left. ---------------------------------------------------- Support Rev Left and get access to bonus episodes: www.patreon.com/revleftradio Make a one-time donation to Rev Left at BuyMeACoffee.com/revleftradio Follow, Subscribe, & Learn more about Rev Left Radio https://revleftradio.com/

Update and Reupload Sept. 25th: The extended family we have been supporting for over a year needs another influx of support as they try to move themselves and their stuff south, as the IOF closes in on their area.  Make a direct intervention in the lives of Palestinians enduring genocide: Donate directly to the Rayyan family in Gaza: https://www.spotfund.com/story/c600f234-0528-4498-809b-88b76a159c9d  

In 1917, Russia went from a centuries-old monarchy to the world’s first workers’ state in just eight months. From the February Revolution and the fall of the Tsar, to the July Days and the failed Kornilov coup, and finally to the decisive October insurrection, the Bolsheviks and the Soviets navigated setbacks, repression, reactionary coups, bourgeois opportunism, and unprecedented opportunities with remarkable clarity, unmatched strategy, and resolute discipline. Breht is joined by Daniel, host of The Sickle and the Hammer: A Socialist History of the Soviet Union, to walk through the year that shook the world. Together they trace the month-to-month developments from February to October 1917, bringing new depth and insight to a revolution that toppled an empire, established the world’s first socialist state, and still looms over our present and future. Check out our episode on "What Is To Be Done" by Lenin HERE ---------------------------------------------------- Support Rev Left and get access to bonus episodes: www.patreon.com/revleftradio Make a one-time donation to Rev Left at BuyMeACoffee.com/revleftradio Follow, Subscribe, & Learn more about Rev Left Radio https://revleftradio.com/ Outro Beat Prod. by Spinitch 'Bitter Cocona'

In this episode, Breht speaks with Robert E. Wilson, author of The Football Manifesto and The Supporters Trust League Manifesto. Together they explore what it means to socialize sports; to reclaim the Beautiful Game from billionaire owners, corrupt institutions, and imperial powers, and return it to the people as a democratic, community-owned, and liberatory project. Together, they examine the ways professional sports in the imperial core normalize colonialism, militarism, racism, and capitalism, while grassroots football worldwide has long been a site of resistance, solidarity, and struggle. From the NFL’s “plantation economics” to the vision of supporter-owned clubs, equal pay for women’s teams, and football as a hub of political education and mutual aid, this conversation makes clear that sports are never “just games.” They are battlefields for ideology and community -- as well as an expression of our nature as social beings -- and if reclaimed, they can become engines of solidarity,healthy communities, and socialist culture. Whether you are a sports fan or not, you will get a LOT out of this fascinating and surprisingly wide-ranging conversation! Gaia Labs HERE Behind the Shield documentary on the NFL by Dave Zirin HERE Black Alliance for Peace petition to ban Israel and US HERE ---------------------------------------------------- Support Rev Left and get access to bonus episodes: www.patreon.com/revleftradio Make a one-time donation to Rev Left at BuyMeACoffee.com/revleftradio Follow, Subscribe, & Learn more about Rev Left Radio https://revleftradio.com/ Outro Beat Prod. by flip da hood

Alyson and Breht critically engage with the concept of "technofeudalism" from a Marxist (and thus historical materialist) perspective, analyzing its origin and recent popularity, critiquing its depoloyment and the implication that it represents a "new mode of production", explaining related concepts like rent-seeking, discussing the role of private equity in the modern American economy, the politics of Yanis Varoufakis, and much, much more.  Private Equity Explainer HERE   Support Rev Left and get access to bonus episodes: www.patreon.com/revleftradio Make a one-time donation to Rev Left at BuyMeACoffee.com/revleftradio Follow, Subscribe, & Learn more about Rev Left Radio: https://revleftradio.com/

Breht went onto the International Solidarity Podcast with host Ashwin! "In this latest episode, I'm joined by Breht O'Shea (who many of you will know as the host of Revolutionary Left Radio and co-host of Red Menace) for a pretty wide-ranging discussion. We talk about the state of the left in the global north amidst the Gaza genocide and its inability to effectively do something about it, we talk about broader global shifts taking place at the moment, how the rest of this century is shaping up to look like, the role of spirituality or humanism in our left politics, combatting fear, cynicism, and individualism, the case for hope, and a whole bunch more.  Journal of International Solidarity Links Instagram:   / journalofintlsolidarity   Substack: https://intlsolidarity.substack.com/ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@JournalofIntlSolidarity  

Breht updates listeners on the fundraiser for the family we are supporting in Gaza, updates listeners on his new job and talks about the challenges and rewards of joining a trade union, explores the economic developments in and around AI (the hype, the bubble, and the infrastructure build-out), and then discusses the US sending troops to Venezuela and the response from Latin America and China. Here is the new link to the Gaza family fundraiser: https://www.spotfund.com/story/c600f234-0528-4498-809b-88b76a159c9d ---------------------------------------------------- Support Rev Left and get access to bonus episodes: www.patreon.com/revleftradio Make a one-time donation to Rev Left at BuyMeACoffee.com/revleftradio Follow, Subscribe, & Learn more about Rev Left Radio: https://revleftradio.com/ outro music 'Xtruhhturrestreeall' by Spinitch find and support more of their work here: https://spinitch.bandcamp.com/album/com-postables-4-dessert

Alyson and Breht are guests on the Red Star Ministry Podcast, a Christian Communist outlet. Together with the host Christian, they discuss Alyson and Breht's evolving personal relationship with religion and atheism, the Dialectics of Nature and Human Consciousness, Spinozist Philosophy, Marxist Philosophy, Post-Atheism and much more.

Part Two: Breht listens to, comments on, and expounds upon a public lecture by  the late professor of philosophy Rick Roderick from 1989 on Hegel, Marx, and modern American capitalism. Along the way he discusses the central role of reproductive labor, the dialectic of feminism in the US across the last century, identifying with your job under capitalism, reactionary psychology and understanding the joy they take in cruelty, the insane irony of "Make America Great Again" under both Reagan and Trump, the prescience of Professor Roderick, socially necessary labor, and more. Finally, Breht opines at length on a crucial and often overlooked dimension of a truly present, meaningful life. ---------------------------------------------------- Support Rev Left and get access to bonus episodes: www.patreon.com/revleftradio Make a one-time donation to Rev Left at BuyMeACoffee.com/revleftradio Follow, Subscribe, & Learn more about Rev Left Radio: https://revleftradio.com/ outro music 'Mooncakes' by Spinitch find and support more of their work here: https://spinitch.bandcamp.com/album/com-postables-4-dessert  

Breht listens to, comments on, and expounds upon a public lecture by the late professor of philosophy Rick Roderick from 1989 on Hegel, Marx, and modern American capitalism. Along the way he explicates the Hegelian notion of Freedom, Right and Left Hegelianism, the End of History, Communism as the Dawn of History, Cognitive Dissonance among the American People, Moral Critiques of Capitalism, Contradictions within Ideology, Dialectical Inversions of Liberal Pretense, and much more. Part 2 coming soon!    outro music 'Antithesnails (spinstrumental)' by Spinitch find and support more of their work here: https://spinitch.bandcamp.com/album/boxorama-spinstrumentals ---------------------------------------------------- Support Rev Left and get access to bonus episodes: www.patreon.com/revleftradio Make a one-time donation to Rev Left at BuyMeACoffee.com/revleftradio Follow, Subscribe, & Learn more about Rev Left Radio: https://revleftradio.com/

This is a small snippet from a full episode currently up on patreon in which Breht discusses a crucial dimension of a well-lived, meaningful existence, and explicates the transformative power of meditation practice,when done sincerley and consistently over time within an established philosophical and religious framework (as opposed to the stripped down, commodified, bastardized version of it often offered in western capitalist societies). 

These are two snippets from a full episode which is currently up on our patreon in which Breht dialectically inverts core aspects of liberal philosophy (i.e. freedom and democracy) from a Marxist perspective, and then explains how the contradiction between the relations and forces of production under capitalism create an untenable and abjectly immoral situation wherein profit maximization for a few is always and everywhere prioritized over the wellbeing and flourshing of the vast majority.  Transition song 'Antithesnails (spintstumentals) by Spinitch ---------------------------------------------------- Support Rev Left and get access to bonus episodes: www.patreon.com/revleftradio Make a one-time donation to Rev Left at BuyMeACoffee.com/revleftradio Follow, Subscribe, & Learn more about Rev Left Radio: https://revleftradio.com/

In this episode, Breht sits down with Ahmed and Luisa - two members of the Democratic Socialists of America’s National Political Committee and leaders within the Springs of Revolution Platform. With the August 2025 DSA Convention approaching, this episode dives into the growing struggle between the organization’s revolutionary left and its more moderate, staff-driven tendencies. Representing a strategic coalition of rank-and-file organizers from across the country -including Red Star, Liberation Caucus, MUG, and Emerge - Springs of Revolution is fighting to remake DSA into a bottom-up, anti-imperialist, and internationally rooted revolutionary organization. From prioritizing local chapters and doubling their funding, to instituting anti-Zionist political commitments and unified electoral strategies, their platform directly challenges the right-wing of the organization and sets out a more radical vision for this evolving organization. We discuss what it means to build DSA into a revolutionary mass force, why Palestine is the “moral compass” of the left, the material lessons of recent uprisings like the George Floyd rebellion and Pro-Palestine Campus Uprisings, and how deep organizing is key to seizing future ruptures. If you’re a delegate heading into convention, a DSA member on the fence, or an outsider wondering what the internal political battles of the U.S. left really look like, this episode is essential listening. Learn more about the platform here: https://sordsa.org/ ---------------------------------------------------- Support Rev Left and get access to bonus episodes: www.patreon.com/revleftradio Make a one-time donation to Rev Left at BuyMeACoffee.com/revleftradio Follow, Subscribe, & Learn more about Rev Left Radio: https://revleftradio.com/ Outro Beat Prod. by flip da hood

In this episode of Red Menace, Breht and Alyson dive into Mao Zedong’s pivotal 1957 speech On the Correct Handling of Contradictions Among the People. This foundational text offers insight into Mao’s dialectical approach to politics, particularly in navigating the complex terrain of class struggle within socialist society. Together they explore Mao’s crucial distinction between antagonistic and non-antagonistic contradictions, and how this distinction can guide revolutionary praxis. The discussion includes an analysis of the “unity–struggle–unity” dialectic, the historical context and lessons of the Hundred Flowers and Hundred Schools campaigns, and the subsequent Anti-Rightist backlash. They also examine Mao’s critique of Han chauvinism and draw parallels to white chauvinism in the contemporary U.S., as well as Mao's position on Tibet and the historical legacy of how that conflict played out, and how it is still weaponized today. ---------------------------------------------------- Support Rev Left and get access to bonus episodes: www.patreon.com/revleftradio Make a one-time donation to Rev Left at BuyMeACoffee.com/revleftradio Follow, Subscribe, & Learn more about Rev Left Radio: https://revleftradio.com/

In this episode, Breht is joined by Alex Zambito, the voice behind the Instagram account Southern Catholic Worker, for a wide-ranging conversation on the intersections of Christianity and revolutionary struggle. Together, they explore Alex’s journey into the Catholic Worker movement, how his Southern roots and spiritual convictions shaped his politics, and what the life and teachings of Jesus Christ - himself a Palestinian born to working people - have to offer a world ravaged by capitalism, empire, and despair. The conversation dives deep into liberation theology, the legacy of figures like John Brown, St. Francis of Assisi, Fanny Lou Hamer, Dorthy Day and Thomas Merton, and the ways theology can inform and animate anti-capitalist resistance. Alex discusses the contradictions between mainstream American Christianity and the gospel's radical call to justice, post-atheism, and the possibilities for a spiritual reawakening amid the decay of late capitalism. ---------------------------------------------------- Support Rev Left and get access to bonus episodes: www.patreon.com/revleftradio Make a one-time donation to Rev Left at BuyMeACoffee.com/revleftradio Follow, Subscribe, & Learn more about Rev Left Radio: https://revleftradio.com/ Outro Beat Prod. by flip da hood

One of the most radical things you can do is live your life in direct opposition to the forces that control our society. Not just fighting for policies or organizing your community, although those are certainly important parts of it, but also living with values that oppose the values of our dominant society. And even more importantly, raising the next generation to embody those values—not in a coercive way, but through organic parenting and role modeling that make radicalism irresistible. This is how we raise revolutionaries: instilling community, love, egalitarianism, and a need for justice into children. And this is just what our guest in today's episode has devoted himself to doing. Breht O’Shea is an activist, organizer, political educator, and host of the podcast Revolutionary Left Radio and co-host of the podcasts Red Menace and Shoeless in South Dakota. He is a father of three based out of Omaha Nebraska. In this conversation, Part 3 of our Post Capitalist Parenting series, Breht shares with us insights about parenting that he's learned over the years as a father of three and what Marxism teaches us about parenting. We discuss the classic text by Engels, The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State, which is a dialectical materialist analysis of patriarchy and the family, tracing the emergence of the patriarchal family and it took through various iterations of class society but also exploring what families have looked like under actually-existing socialism and also what it might look like under communism. We also explore the anti-natalist position which attempts to argue that having children is immoral, why this perspective is deeply flawed, what Buddhism can teach us about parenting, and much, much more. Support Breht and Rev Left Radio, and join their community HERE Further Resources The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State, Freidrich Engels Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism: And Other Arguments for Economic Independence, by Kristen Ghodsee Related Episodes: Post Capitalist Parenting Pt. 1: Parenting Under Capitalism w/ Toi Smith Post Capitalist Parenting Pt. 2: Reimagining the Family w/ Kristen Ghodsee Revolutionary Leftism with Breht O'Shea Buddhism and Marxism with Breht O'Shea What is To Be Done? with Breht O'Shea and Alyson Escalante Imperialism, The Highest Stage of Capitalism w/ Breht O'Shea and Alyson Escalante Red Menace: "The Origin of the Family, Private Property, and The State" by Friedrich Engels (Pt. 1) Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism w/ Kristen Ghodsee Intermission music: "Cool 4 U" by Club Cafe Upstream is a labor of love—we couldn't keep this project going without the generosity of our listeners and fans. Subscribe to our Patreon at patreon.com/upstreampodcast or please consider chipping in a one-time or recurring donation at www.upstreampodcast.org/support If your organization wants to sponsor one of our upcoming documentaries, we have a number of sponsorship packages available. Find out more at  upstreampodcast.org/sponsorship For more from Upstream, visit www.upstreampodcast.org and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Bluesky. You can also subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts.

"In this episode we are joined by Breht O'Shea to talk about fascism and it's peculiarities in the 21st Century." I went on The Pokepreet Podcast for a second time recently and had a really in-depth and nuanced conversation about fascism, presently and historically; together we discuss how American fascism arising out of the ruins of neoliberalism is qualitatively different than previous fascisms, the role of insecure masculinity in all fascist movements, the implications of a lack of an organized and militant working class to combat it, the feckless liberal (non)response, the Democrats embrace of the "Abundance" agenda, the Palestinian liberation struggle, and MUCH much more. You can find Henri's work at: ⁠https://substack.com/@henrimartel ⁠ Support Pokepreet on Patreon: ⁠https://www.patreon.com/thepokepreetpod   ---------------------------------------------------- Support Rev Left and get access to bonus episodes: www.patreon.com/revleftradio Make a one-time donation to Rev Left at BuyMeACoffee.com/revleftradio Follow, Subscribe, & Learn more about Rev Left Radio: https://revleftradio.com/