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The old forms of the Left are moribund and the new forms are stupid. We're making a podcast that discusses the need to organize a Dialectical Pessimism and develop a salvage project capable of sparking a new workers' movement for socialism. A clean, honest, and unsentimental melancholy is required; we are cultivating one and would like to share it with you.
“The challenge of modernity is to live without illusions and without becoming disillusioned. I’m a pessimist because of intelligence, but an optimist because of will.”
-- Antonio Gramsci
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330 Episodes
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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 mu...
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 ...
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...
Trump's Fake Drug War Against Venezuela, Trump's Dumbass Diplomacy Nets Big L vs China, Trump's Protection Racket Only Works on US Allies, Genocide in Darfur Has UAE and Israeli Fingerprints, Kiev Won't Last till Spring?, The Ukrainian Nazi Cult of the Christchurch Shooter, Zelensky Threatens Journalists, The Collapse Speeds Up... Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop
This week, we began (and had to cut short) 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
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). ...
This week, the Regrettable Christian Caucus begins 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 vulne...
Samantha Powers' UN/Israel Collusion, Anduril/Palantir Intel Risks to US Military, Right Wing Imperialist Proxy Wins Nobel Prize, Cease Fire in Gaza?, Angela Merkel Shifts Blame Onto Poland and Baltics, Poland's Imperial Ambitions, Zelensky's Wunderwaffen Scams, Ukraine's Energy Industry Crippled... Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop
It's time for a new patron reading group, and we've chosen 'Disaster Nationalism' by Richard Seymour. The gang gets started with the introduction, which means there is still time to become part of the group. If so, go to the Discord to join in. From the publisher: Liberal civilisation is in crisis - now is a time of monsters. While the spotlight often shines on the actions of charismatic right-wing leaders such as Donald Trump and Jair Bolsonaro, defeating these people will not stem the tid...
This week the boys finish a close reading of an interview with Terence Renaud wherein he discusses his new book New Lefts: The Making of a Radical Tradition. We weigh in on the positive and negative legacies of the multiple revisions to "leftism." https://www.thenation.com/article/culture/qa-terence-renaud-new-left/ Listen to Part I: https://regrettablecentury.buzzsprout.com/220523/episodes/17815226-a-cascading-series-of-new-lefts-part-i-of-ii Send us a message (sorry we can't...
This week, we read and discussed an article about a phenomenon that apparently some people are, or were, concerned about: the problem of fascist infiltration of the anti-war movement. We discuss the problems inherent in gatekeeping social movements and the lack of left-wing organizations of any size. We also chime in on the overblown concerns about "Red-Brownism." Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop
The US is Behind On Drone Warfare, Satano-Nazi Terror in the USA, The Global Turn Against the Genocidal Apartheid State, The AFD's Gains in Former SPD Bastion, Reform UK is Britain's Most Popular Party, The Neo-Nazi Who Knew Too Much, Zelensky Is Losing Touch With Reality, Ukraine's Slow Collapse Continues... Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop
Instances of stochastic violence in the United States are at an all-time high and the political violence of our era mirrors the political topography, disaggregated and rudderless. The boys got together this week to talk about Charlie Kirk and the newer/dumber "Years of Lead." A Stark Look at the Recent History of Political Violence in America https://time.com/6998406/political-violence-united-states-recent-history/ Our Own Worst Enemies https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/polit...
Newer Dumber Years of Lead, Newer Dumber Cold War Heats Up, Israel Kills Kids in Doha This Time, Europe Can't be Inconvenienced by Sanctions on India and China, Poland Shoots Down Three Slow Moving Unarmed Decoy Drones... Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop
This week the boys do a close reading of an interview with Terence Renaud wherein he discusses his new book New Lefts: The Making of a Radical Tradition. We weigh in on the positive and negative legacies of the multiple revisions to "leftism." https://www.thenation.com/article/culture/qa-terence-renaud-new-left/ Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop
Today we read the second half of an article titled Do We Need an Updated Theory of Fascism? Theorizing the nature and implications of the global far-right resurgence by Prof. Dr. Alex Demirović, which was published by the Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung. We liked this article for a few reasons, not the least of which was that it sparked good discussion... Do We Need an Updated Theory of Fascism? by Alex Demirović Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regre...
We sat down with our patrons to read and discuss the 1973 Hal Draper Pamphlet, Anatomy of the Microsect. https://www.marxists.org/archive/draper/1973/xx/microsect.htm Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop
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It seems to me there is a tension in this episode between wanting to define classes based on their relationship to production and wanting to define classes based on which "side" you think they will be on. The later is an obstacle to doing the former.
Well, I see that the time honored tradition of finding the most pedantic nerd imaginable that can hold the banner high to embaress swedes throughout the world is still honoured.
This is an extremely podcast for every human to listen to.