Diet Soap - a podcast

In this episode of the CutroneZone, Chris and Doug revisit "The Age of Transition: Trajectories in the World-System" by Immanuel Wallerstein. They walk through Wallerstein’s forecasts for the year 2025 and examine where World Systems Theory succeeded, where it fell short, and what the failures tell us about the Left’s theoretical models.The Age of Transition by Immanuel Wallerstein: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1563245022Chris Cutrone’s Marxism and Politics: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1789047455Support Us on Patreon:https://patreon.com/dietsoap

Spencer Leonard responds to a recent episode of Give Them an Argument. Norman Finkelstein, Matt McManus, and Ben Burgis all attempted to defend J.S. Mill from Karl Marx, and in the process demonstrated their failure to understand Marx's criticisms of Mill. Support Sublation Mediahttps://patreon.com/dietsoap

Douglas Lain speaks with writer and artist Arturo Desimone, who recently attended the Emergency Conference of the Hague Group on Palestine, held in Bogotá, Colombia, in July 2025.Billed as a bold step by Global South nations to enforce international law and support Palestinian rights, the summit ended with non-binding measures, including calls for an arms embargo and support for ICC/ICJ rulings. But beyond strong rhetoric and symbolic gestures, little of substance emerged.Support Sublation Mediahttps://patreon.com/dietsoap

Chris Cutrone discusses his recent essay in Sublation Magazine entitled "Socialist unity!"Excerpt:The current framework of politics and law in capitalism is severely limited, and geared to other needs: the needs and “rights” of capital. But the workers depend on capital and capitalism: their contradiction must be brought about; for now there is an apparent identity of interests — which capitalist politics exploits. The workers are bound to support capitalism out of self-interest.Read the call for "Socialist Unity" at Sublation Magazine:https://www.sublationmag.com/post/socialist-unitySupport Sublation Media on Patreonhttps://patreon.com/dietsoap

Dan Davison discusses his essay for Sublation Magazine entitled "Stuck in a time loop? Mamdani and the Left’s Amnesia" on this episode of Diet Soap. Here's an excerpt:Leftists are brimming with joy that Mamdani’s platform has (apparently) shown the world how to build a winning socialist campaign that brings together and highlights the connections between “material” concerns on the one hand and “identity” concerns on the other. Predictably, much of this has been framed in terms of lessons for the Democrats in how to take on Trump. “You see!” cries the would-be left to the Democratic Party. “This is the kind of bold, positive alternative you should present to voters if you want to win! Here are the policies you should adopt, and here’s how you should campaign for them!”Much like the Enterprise crew in the later repetitions of their time loop, my first thought upon seeing all this was “Haven’t I been here before?”Stuck in a Time Loop Essay:https://www.sublationmag.com/post/stuck-in-a-time-loop-mamdani-and-the-left-s-amnesiaSupport Sublation Media:https://patreon.com/dietsoap

Chris Cutrone discusses his recent essay for Compact entitled "What Musk and Trump Still Have in Common." Why did Musk and Trump break up? What can we learn about capitalist politics by asking this question? Is Musk mentally ill? Is Trump sad? Find out.Support Sublation Media on Patreonhttps://patreon.com/dietsoap

Stanley Sharpey joins Douglas Lain to discuss Francis Fukuyama's 1992 book "The End of History and the Last Man," as well as Fukuyama's attempt to defend and return to this work over the last 33 years. Support Sublation Media on Patreonhttps://patreon.com/dietsoap

Spencer Leonard discusses Walter Benjamin's "On the Concept of History" with Douglas Lain. He raises the question, "Can a Marxist be an historian?"Support Sublation Media on Patreonhttps://patreon.com/dietsoap

Benjamin Studebaker and Douglas Lain discuss Elon Musk's new political party, Trump's Big Beautiful Bill, and Walter Benjamin's On the Concept of History.Support Sublation Media:https://patreon.com/dietsoap

Chris Cutrone describes how the left's history of supporting right-wing reaction in the Middle East has led to this moment of conflict, whether Trump was planning the attack on Iran all along, and the reason we should assume good faith on all sides when considering world politics. Support Sublation Mediahttps://patreon.com/dietsoap

What is American conservatism, and how should socialists understand it? In this interview, Wyatt Verlen offers a historical overview of conservatism in the United States, from the Bourbon Democrats and Robert Taft to William F. Buckley and the rise of the New Right. We explore how conservatism evolved in response to the Progressive Era, the New Deal, and the Cold War, and examine the role of political machines, laissez-faire ideology, and anti-communism in shaping the American right. This is a conversation about history, ideology, and strategy through a socialist lens.Support Sublation Mediahttps://patreon.com/dietsoap

Chris Cutrone explains why the left needs to abandon the liberal conception of "Bonapartism" and take up a Marxist understanding instead. Bonapartism is not Bonaparte at the Platypus Reviewhttps://platypus1917.org/2025/06/01/bonapartism-is-not-bonaparte/Support Sublation Mediahttps://patreon.com/dietsoap

Stanley Sharpey is a writer and a socialist living in London. His essay for Sublation Magazine, "The Discreet Charm of the PMC" explains the history of the term and ends up sympathizing with the Ehrenreichs given the political dilemma they faced in the 1970s.The Discreet Charm of the PMC at Sublation Magazinehttps://www.sublationmag.com/post/the-discreet-charm-of-the-pmcSupport Sublation Mediahttps://patreon.com/dietsoap

Spencer Leonard discusses the meaning of the term "Historical Materialism," and how it emerged through the historical struggle for socialism. Support Sublation Mediahttps://patreon.com/dietsoap

Benjamin Studebaker and Douglas Lain discuss Adorno's essay "Commitment" and the failure of leftist politics over the last decade. What level of regression can we expect?Support Sublation Mediahttps://patreon.com/dietsoap