The Regrettable Century

This week, we returned to a discussion about a not very well-known article from an obscure Trotskyist journal written over a decade ago... It generated a little bit of a buzz, but was mostly ignored. We think that was a mistake, and we are going to tell you all about why you should care about the decisions of the 10th Party Congress of the Russian Communist Party. You won't want to miss this episode. The Article in Question: The Red Jacobins: Thermidor and the Russian Revolution in 1921 

The boys are back and are nearing the end of the book. Chapters 11 and 12 are where Dugin's animating principle of "Dasein" comes into conflict with his understanding of global geopolitics and the project of "Fourth Political Praxis." Work Cited: Dugin, Alexander (2012). The Fourth Political Theory. Translated by Sleboda, Mark; Millerman, Michael. Arktos Media.   Join the Regrettable Century Patreon

This is a repost of an episode from 2003, but with an added leadoff that we recorded recently.   This episode discusses a topic that bears constant revisiting: our pessimism (because of intellect) and our optimism (because of will). No, it's not just a doomer affectation that we can use to sound as cool as we look; it's a critical method of engaging with the bleak reality that faces us. The only way out is through, but getting through is possible. Revolutionary Pessimism: The Worst is Yet to Come https://www.christiansocialism.com/2020/05/12/covid-peter-fleming-revolutionary-pessimism-capitalism/ Pessimism of the Will https://viewpointmag.com/2020/05/28/pessimism-of-the-will/ CRITICAL PESSIMISM AND THE LIMITS OF TRADITIONAL MARXISM  https://www.jstor.org/stable/657342  For A Refresher: The Proper Amount of Bumming People Out: Pessimisms and Optimisms of Intellect and Will https://regrettablecentury.buzzsprout.com/220523/1410229-the-proper-amount-of-bumming-people-out-pessimisms-and-optimisms-of-intellect-and-will Scattered Thoughts on Melancholia and the Organization of Pessimism https://regrettablecentury.buzzsprout.com/220523/1320682-scattered-thoughts-on-melancholia-and-the-organization-of-pessimism Pessimism of the Intellect, Pessimism of the Will https://regrettablecentury.buzzsprout.com/220523/889740-pessimism-of-the-intellect-pessimism-of-the-will Music- Англия - Сказочный мир

This week, we get together to talk through a sort of brief overview of the era of the Pink Tide in Latin America and try to draw out some of the lessons and implications for the future of Socialism for the 21st Century... What Happened to the Pink Tide? https://jacobin.com/2016/07/pink-tide-latin-america-chavez-morales-capitalism-socialism/  The Rise and Fall of the Latin American Left https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/the-ebb-and-flow-of-latin-americas-pink-tide/  What Is Socialism for the Twenty-First Century? https://monthlyreview.org/2016/10/01/what-is-socialism-for-the-twenty-first-century/  21st Century Socialism: What It Will Become and Why? https://ibw21.org/commentary/21st-century-socialism-what-it-will-become-and-why/  Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

Here it is comrades, the long-awaited fourth patron Q&A. We answer questions about America's humiliation, Chinese communism, AI in schools, and our favorite revolutionary books and/or pamphlets. This is only half the questions we received this time, the second half will be posted in Patron Q&A V next week... Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

The Iran Regime Change that Wasn't, Canada and China are Pals Now, Greenland Idiocy, Ukraine's Mass Desertion Crisis, Ukraine's Corruption Crisis, Ukraine's Fiscal Crisis, Ukraine's Fortification Crisis, Ukraine's Losing the War Crisis... Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

Once again, the boys are back... again. We return to our long-neglected "Decadence Theory" project with Varn Vlog. This week, the boys try to get back in the swing of things with a reorientation episode.  Varn Vlog https://www.patreon.com/c/varnvlog/posts Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

This week, we finally finish off the a close reading of The Concept of Left by Leszek Kolakowski.  Kolakowski was a dissident Polish Marxist who later turned against the project altogether. However, before he did, he wrote much that is worth reading.  The Concept of the Left- Leszek Kolakowski  Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

The Venezuelan Regime Change that Wasn't, Oil Companies don't Want Venezuelan Oil, Machado Sidelined by Trump, Israeli False Flags, Israel Persecutes Christians, AIPAC Goes Underground, The CIA's Role in the Ukraine War, Ukraine War Summary 2025... Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

This week, the Regrettable Christian Caucus finishes Chapter II of Laudato Si' by the late Pope Francis. You can follow along by grabbing the PDF from Verso or from the Vatican website.  This Papal Encyclical calls for urgent action to address the global environmental crisis, critiques consumerism, blind developmentalism, inequality, and profit seeking. The document calls for global political solidarity to transition to a sustainable economy and for the protection of the world's most vulnerable populations.  Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

Well, here is a release that is back on our old schedule, but we won't be on this schedule for long. In fact, this is our last geopolitics episode of the year. We will resume in the New Year on a bi-weekly schedule. Trump's Acts of Piracy, Genocide in Darfur, Officer Exodus from the IDF, Europe Hopes to Prolong Ukraine War, More Russian Gains and Ukrainian Losses... Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

The boys are back, well... some of the boys. Picking up after a year long hiatus, Jason and Varn are ready to get down to finishing off Dugin. Dugin, Alexander (2012). The Fourth Political Theory. Translated by Sleboda, Mark; Millerman, Michael. Arktos Media.  -------------------------------------- Varn Vlog  https://varnvlog.buzzsprout.com/  ------------------------------------- Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

This is a Patreon episode we liked so much that we unlocked it for everyone to hear. We hope you enjoy it.  This week, Jason and Ben sat down to acknowledge and resolve all the contradictions that have manifested in our discussions on this podcast. Actually, we don't resolve anything, but we do acknowledge some things. Our listeners will know that we often disagree with the broader left, each other, and our earlier selves. While we don't manage to piece together a solid line for the podcast, we do manage to talk a lot about those contradictions. Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

*re-uploaded*  This week we sat down with Matthew from the Unbreakable Union podcast and talked about the changing state of the world, what it's been like to be on the left throughout the years, the situation in France, and why maybe our pessimism makes a little bit more sense than it might first seem. https://unbreakableunion.buzzsprout.com/ Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

This week, Jason and Ben continued their conversation with Stephan Hammel of The Measures Taken Podcast about his new book Toward a Materialist Conception of Music History. From the publisher: "This book argues for the relevance, appropriateness, and usefulness of historical materialism to the musicological project. It interrogates the history of encounters between Marxism and music studies — both within and without the Soviet sphere — before staging the missed encounter between classical musicology and Second International Marxism. It concludes with a framework for understanding style history in terms of changes in the forces and relations of musical production." https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/2684-toward-a-materialist-conception-of-music-history https://www.themeasurestaken.org/ Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

 Trump Wants to Talk to Maduro, Israel is Still Murdering Children, Zelensky Has Lost Touch With Reality, Ukraine Is Losing and Being Forced Into an Unfavorable Peace Deal... Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

This week, Jason and Ben got together with friend and comrade Stephan Hammel of The Measures Taken Podcast to talk about his new book Toward a Materialist Conception of Music History. From the publisher: "This book argues for the relevance, appropriateness, and usefulness of historical materialism to the musicological project. It interrogates the history of encounters between Marxism and music studies — both within and without the Soviet sphere — before staging the missed encounter between classical musicology and Second International Marxism. It concludes with a framework for understanding style history in terms of changes in the forces and relations of musical production." https://www.haymarketbooks.org/books/2684-toward-a-materialist-conception-of-music-history https://www.themeasurestaken.org/ Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

It's once again time for 'Disaster Nationalism' by Richard Seymour. The gang dives into chapters one and two, which means there is still time to become part of the group. If you would like to join in, go to the Discord! Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

Another year of podcasting is in the books. Listen to our post-game wrap of the year's events, the podcast, and our lives.  Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

This week we did a close reading of a RAND corporation policy proposal paper called Overextending and Unbalancing Russia: Assessing the Impact of Cost-Imposing Options. It has been argued that this document is the root of America's disastrous foreign policy regarding Russia, which has plunged Ukraine and the Middle East into misery and death. https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_briefs/RB10000/RB10014/RAND_RB10014.pdf Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop