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© 2025 A.K. 47 - Selections from the Works of Alexandra Kollontai
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Kristen R. Ghodsee reads and discusses 47 selections from the works of Alexandra Kollontai (1872-1952), a socialist women's activist who had radical ideas about the intersections of socialism and women's emancipation. Born into aristocratic privilege, the Ukrainian-Finnish Kollontai was initially a member of the Mensheviks before she joined Lenin and the Bolsheviks and became an important revolutionary figure during the 1917 Russian Revolution. Kollontai was a socialist theorist of women’s emancipation and a strident proponent of sexual relations freed from all economic considerations. After the October Revolution, Kollontai became the Commissar of Social Welfare and helped to found the Zhenotdel (the women's section of the Party). She oversaw a wide variety of legal reforms and public policies to help liberate working women and to create the basis of a new socialist sexual morality. But Russians were not ready for her vision of emancipation, and she was sent away to Norway to serve as the first Russian female ambassador (and only the third female ambassador in the world). In this podcast, Kristen R. Ghodsee – a professor of Russian and East European Studies at the University of Pennsylvania and the author of Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism: And Other Arguments for Economic Independence (Bold Type Books 2018) – selects excerpts from the essays, speeches, and fiction of Alexandra Kollontai and puts them in context. Each episode provides an introduction to the abridged reading with some relevant background on Kollontai and the historical moment in which she was writing.
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Kristen Ghodsee shares a conservation with a previous guest from March 2022, a self-described anarchist activist, about the value of feeling one’s political despair and using it to generate political creativity. Mentioned in this episode: I Want a Better Catastrophe Also this article: "Kollontai: Leaving behind Menshevik pacifism" Send us a text Thanks so much for listening. This podcast has no Patreon-type account and receives no funding. There are no ads and there is no monetization. ...
Kristen R. Ghodsee reads a 1930 interview with Alexandra Kollontai about the new morality around love and marriage in the Soviet Union. Kollontai argues that romantic love and relationships will no longer be the most important thing in women’s lives because they will have the support of the socialist state in reducing their responsibilities for domestic work and will have a wider community of citizens helping them to raise up the next generation. One version and the archival references ...
Kristen Ghodsee reads Aleksandra Kollontai’s March 8, 1947 International Women’s Day address, taken from the book: Alexandra Kollontai: The Plight, Struggle, and Liberation of Women Send us a text Thanks so much for listening. This podcast has no Patreon-type account and receives no funding. There are no ads and there is no monetization. If you would like to support the work being done here, please spread the word, share with your friends and networks, and consider exploring the following l...
In this special bonus episode, recorded on Valentine's Day 2025 in Dublin, Kristen Ghodsee and her daughter discuss the book Intermezzo, the latest by the Irish novelist, Sally Rooney. Rooney identifies herself as a Marxist and often mixes politics and social commentary into her stories. Kollontai's ideas about "comradely-love" and of troubling the confines of the nuclear family find interesting resonances in this 2024 novel. The episode has many SPOILERS for Intermezzo. Send us a...
Kristen Ghodsee reads the final section of Alexandra Kollontai's 1915/1916 essay about World War I–"Who Needs the War?"–and looks for lessons applicable to the present day. This is especially salient today because the United States is on the eve of a trade war with Mexico and Canada. This translation is from a 1984 collection of Kollontai's writing published by Progress Publishers in the Soviet Union, which claims that the essay was written while Kollontai was in exile in Norway. She sent it...
Kristen Ghodsee reads the fifth section of Alexandra Kollontai's 1915 essay about World War I–"Who Needs the War?"–and looks for lessons applicable to the present day. This is especially salient today because of the narrow confirmation of the new U.S. Secretary of Defense under the Trump Administration, and the emergence of the reinvigorated oligarchy in the United States. This translation is from a 1984 collection of Kollontai's writing published by Progress Publishers in the Soviet Union, ...
Kristen Ghodsee reads the fourth section of Alexandra Kollontai's 1915 essay about World War I–"Who Needs the War?"–and looks for lessons applicable to the present day. This translation is from a 1984 collection of Kollontai's writing published by Progress Publishers in the Soviet Union, which claims that the essay was written while Kollontai was in exile in Norway. She sent it to Vladimir Lenin (then in exile in Switzerland) who also edited it before publication. The final pamphlet was fir...
Kristen Ghodsee reads the third section of Alexandra Kollontai's 1915 essay about World War I–"Who Needs the War?"–and looks for lessons applicable to the present day. This translation is from a 1984 collection of Kollontai's writing published by Progress Publishers in the Soviet Union, which claims that the essay was written while Kollontai was in exile in Norway. She sent it to Vladimir Lenin (then in exile in Switzerland) who also edited it before publication. The final pamphlet was firs...
In this episode, Kristen Ghodsee discusses Alexandra Kollontai, nationalism, internationalism, and supranationalism with her daughter, just home from Ireland for fall break. Trigger warning: lots of Irish history! Mentioned in this episode: "Imagine" by John Lennon (and Yoko Ono) "Imagine there's no heaven It's easy if you try No hell below us Above us, only sky Imagine all the people Livin' for today Ah Imagine there's no countries It isn't hard to do Nothing to kill or die for And no re...
Kristen Ghodsee reads Alexandra Kollontai's 1915 essay about World War I–"Who Needs the War?"–and looks for lessons applicable to the present day. This translation is from a 1984 collection of Kollontai's writing published by Progress Publishers in the Soviet Union, which claims that the essay was written while Kollontai was in exile in Norway. She sent it to Vladimir Lenin (then in exile in Switzerland) who also edited it before publication. The final pamphlet was first published in 2016. ...
Kristen Ghodsee reads Alexandra Kollontai's 1915 essay about World War I–"Who Needs the War?"–and looks for lessons applicable to the present day. This translation is from a 1984 collection of Kollontai's writing published by Progress Publishers in the Soviet Union, which claims that the essay was written while Kollontai was in exile in Norway. She sent it to Vladimir Lenin (then in exile in Switzerland) who also edited it before publication. The final pamphlet went into multiple editi...
Kristen Ghodsee speaks to Scott R. Sehon, a professor of philosophy, about his new book, Socialism: A Logical Introduction, and why we should use arguments to make a case for socialism and against capitalism. The first ten U.S.-based listeners to email Alexandra.kollontai.podcast@gmail.com with a name and address will get a free copy of Professor Sehon's new book. Mentioned in this episode: Anti-anti-communism"What Democratic Socialists Should Think about Anti-Communism"www.scot...
For International Women's Day, Kristen Ghodsee reads the Black Trinidadian activist and journalist Claudia Jones's speech for International Women's Day in 1950. This speech, (and the published version which appeared afterwards) led to Jones's arrest and eventual deportation from the United States. Jones was a member of the CPUSA, and believed that women's emancipation and civil rights required a strong stance against imperialism and militarism. She say capitalism, patriarchy, and white suprem...
Kristen Ghodsee reads a profile of Alexandra Kollontai which appeared in the Washington Post on May 15, 1927 when Kollontai was serving as the Soviet ambassador to Mexico. Mentioned in this episode: The hardcover of Everyday Utopia is on sale at Amazon.com for $14.99 (50% off) Send us a text Thanks so much for listening. This podcast has no Patreon-type account and receives no funding. There are no ads and there is no monetization. If you would like to support the work being done here, pl...
Kristen Ghodsee and her daughter share a conversation about Kollontai's pro-natalism and the current discourse about the BirthStrike. Are the relevant moral imperatives about having or not having children? And how does the climate crisis factor into people's decisions? We also discuss the future of the podcast and the newly discovered fact that it is listened to in 100 countries around the world. Send us a text Thanks so much for listening. This podcast has no Patreon-type account and r...
Kristen Ghodsee reads the final part of Alexandra Kollontai's 1921 essay, "The Labor of Women in the Evolution of the Economy" to explore Kollontai's arguments for the socialization of the family and the socialist uses of the maternal instinct. Although Kollontai is openly pro-natalist, and emphasizes that motherhood is a social obligation to help produce new workers for the world's first workers state, she is making these arguments to suspicious men in the Bolshevik government who do not wan...
Kristen Ghodsee reads the second part of Alexandra Kollontai's 1921 essay, "The Labor of Women in the Evolution of the Economy" to explore Kollontai's arguments for the socialization of the family and the socialist uses of the maternal instinct. Although Kollontai is openly pro-natalist, and emphasizes that motherhood is a social obligation to help produce new workers for the world's first workers state, she is making these arguments to suspicious men in the Bolshevik government who do not wa...
Kristen Ghodsee reads the first part of Alexandra Kollontai's 1921 essay, "The Labor of Women in the Evolution of the Economy." A portion of this essay on abortion was discussed on the 6 March 2019 episode, but here Ghodsee digs in to Kollontai's argument for the socialization of the family. Mentioned in this episode: The eight Season 22 finalists for The Next Big Idea Club curated by Adam Grant, Susan Cain, Daniel Pink, and Malcolm Gladwell.Just in time for the holidays, the first 1...
In this bonus episode, Kristen Ghodsee welcomes back her now almost 22-year-old daughter to discuss a theory of fun. What would a society look like if we prioritized the ability of everyone to have as much fun as they wanted (in whatever form that fun might take)? Rather than worrying about the fitness benefits of different human behaviors, maybe all we really need to do is focus on having a good time, and the rest will take care of itself. Mentioned in this episode: The Barbie MovieAntonio ...
Kristen Ghodsee reads the fifth and final part of Alexandra Kollontai's 1921 text: "The Workers Opposition." Mentioned in this episode are: Science Magazine podcast, "Everyday Utopia: In Praise of Radical Alternatives to the Traditional Family Home," September 28, 2023Atlas Obscura Podcast, “Twin Oaks,” September 25, 2023Freakonomics Radio, “When Did Marriage Become a Luxury Good?” September 21, 2023KQED The Forum, “What Does Utopia Mean to You?” September 7, 2023Kati Kraus, "Diese Fam...
Kristen Ghodsee reads the fourth part of Alexandra Kollontai's 1921 text: "The Workers Opposition" and moans a bit about joining Instagram: @kristenghodsee Mentioned in this episode are: WIRED, Have a Nice Future Podcast, “Maybe you should just join a commune.” August 23, 2023Everyday Anarchism, “Everyday Utopia - Kristen Ghodsee,” August 23, 2023The Gray Area Podcast with Sean Illing, “The Benefits of Utopian Thinking,” August 21, 2023Send us a text Thanks so much for listening. This ...
Kristen Ghodsee reads the third part of Alexandra Kollontai's 1921 text: "The Workers Opposition." Send us a text Thanks so much for listening. This podcast has no Patreon-type account and receives no funding. There are no ads and there is no monetization. If you would like to support the work being done here, please spread the word, share with your friends and networks, and consider exploring the following links. Check out Kristen Ghodsee's recent books: Everyday Utopia Red Valky...
Kristen Ghodsee reads the second part of Alexandra Kollontai's 1921 text: "The Workers Opposition." Check out these upcoming events: Online - How To Academy, August 3 (6:00pm GMT)Online - Second Life Book Club, August 9 (12:00pm Pacific Time)In person - Society for Ethical Culture Sunday Platform, August 13 (11:00am EDT)In person - Half King Reading Series, August 15, (7:00pm EDT)Send us a text Thanks so much for listening. This podcast has no Patreon-type account and receives no fundi...
Kristen Ghodsee reads the first part of Alexandra Kollontai's 1921 text: "The Workers Opposition." Mentioned in this episode are these upcoming events: Online - How To Academy, August 3 (6:00pm GMT)Online - Second Life Book Club, August 9 (12:00pm Pacific Time)In person - Society for Ethical Culture Sunday Platform, August 13 (11:00am EDT)In person - Half King Reading Series, August 15, (7:00pm EDT)Send us a text Thanks so much for listening. This podcast has no Patreon-type account an...
On the eve of a possible UPS strike in the United States, Kristen Ghodsee reads a 1968 introduction to Alexandra Kollontai's 1921 pamphlet written in support of the Workers Opposition. This was a fundamental critique of Bolshevism from within the Party ranks, which was squashed and ended Kollontai's political career in the USSR. Mentioned in this episode: Total Liberation Podcast with Mexie (Livestream), “Building Utopia with Dr. Kristen Ghodsee,” July 7, 2023Upstream Podcast, “Everyda...
Kristen Ghodsee reads Cathy Porter's 1980 translation of Kollontai's 1922 short story, "Conversation Piece," about a woman having to choose between the man she loves romantically and the man she loves intellectually and spiritually. Mentioned in this episode: Listen to Kristen Ghodsee on the New York Times's Ezra Klein Show (also available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, etc). Full transcript hereRead a 2000-word abstract from Everyday Utopia in Jacobin MagazineWatch the Everyday Utopia boo...
Kristen Ghodsee reads an April 25, 1982 review of a [then] new English translation of Alexandra Kollontai's collection, "A Great Love," translated by Cathy Porter. Mentioned in this episode are: A list of utopian summer reading recommendations at Literary Hub.com. A new podcast interview at Revolutionary Left Radio. An excerpt of Everyday Utopia in Penn Today. Send us a text Thanks so much for listening. This podcast has no Patreon-type account and receives no funding. There ...
Kristen Ghodsee reads an article about the creation in 2019 of the Kollontai Vodka Antisessista by a group of self-managed workers in Milan. Sales from this vodka are used to finance a autonomist literary cafe in Bari. The whole project is a wonderful example of the contemporary legacy of Kollontai and her continuing inspiration for feminists and activists around the world. In Italy, buy Kollontai Vodka here (The proceeds from the sale of the vodka will finance mutual aid projects for women ...
Kristen Ghodsee reads the second half of a biographical article written by the American Katharine Anthony and published in The North American Review in September 1930. At this point in time, Kollontai was serving as the Soviet ambassador to Norway, and Katharine Anthony was introducing Kollontai to an American audience as a feminist and women's rights activist, and playing down her connections to the Bolsheviks. Please help me with the pre-order campaign for Everyday Utopia! If you are in N...
Kristen Ghodsee reads the first half of a biographical article written by the American Katharine Anthony and published in The North American Review in September 1930. At this point in time, Kollontai was serving as the Soviet ambassador to Norway, and Katharine Anthony was introducing Kollontai to an American audience as a feminist and women's rights activist, and playing down her connections to the Bolsheviks. Please help me with the pre-order campaign for Everyday Utopia! If you are in No...
To celebrate International Women's Day in 2023, Kristen Ghodsee reads an abridged version of Clara Zetkin's article on the official establishment of March 8 as International Communist Women's Day. The article is from International Press Correspondence, Vol. 2 No. 18, published on 8 March 1922. Clara Zetkin was the leader of the women's section of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) of Germany, and a close friend and mentor to Alexandra Kollontai when the latter was in exile in Western E...
Kristen Ghodsee reads two news items about Alexandra Kollontai from December 25, 1926 and April 21, 1927, during the time that Kollontai served as the Soviet ambassador to Mexico. Ghodsee also shares some exciting news about her forthcoming book. Send us a text Thanks so much for listening. This podcast has no Patreon-type account and receives no funding. There are no ads and there is no monetization. If you would like to support the work being done here, please spread the word, share...
Kristen Ghodsee reads and discusses Alexandra Kollontai's 1918 essay, "The First Steps Towards the Protection of Motherhood." Kollontai saw motherhood as a "obligation" and "sacred duty" of women, and was very pro-natalist in her politics. But many of the policies she implemented between 1917 and 1918 reflected the desires of working women who attended the conferences Kollontai organized in Petrograd. In many ways, Kollontai may be the reason that policies and programs like daycare, parental ...
In this episode, Kristen Ghodsee speaks with professor Page Herrlinger at Bowdoin College about the political ramifications of Alexandra Kollontai's untimely seizure of the Alexandra Nesky monastery on January 19, 1918. As Commissar of Social Welfare, it was Kollontai's responsibility to find a place for the wounded soldiers returning from the front after the armistice of December 1917. She did not expect the fierce resistance she encountered. Herrlinger is an historian of Russia, and argue...
In this episode, Kristen Ghodsee and her daughter discuss the "value" of our relationships. Why is it an achievement to have a hundred thousand followers on social media (most of whom you will never know), but not an achievement to have ten really close friends? Send us a text Thanks so much for listening. This podcast has no Patreon-type account and receives no funding. There are no ads and there is no monetization. If you would like to support the work being done here, please spread the w...
Kristen Ghodsee and her daughter discuss the what's in and out for the new year, including Kollontai, Kir Royale cocktails, and community care. Mentioned in the episode are Rebecca Amsellem's podcast, "The Method;" the Palgrave Handbook of Communist Women's Activists around the World, Sophie Lewis's new book, Abolish the Family, Liza Featherstone's forthcoming book, Comrade Kollontai; the socialist feminist glossy Lux Magazine; and Kristen Ghodsee's forthcoming book Everyday Utopia. Praise f...
Kristen Ghodsee reads a 21 January 1923 piece from the New York Times. A labor leader from Seattle gives his impressions of women in Russia, including his attendance at the World Congress of Women held in Moscow. Discussed in this episode are the current protests against mandatory headscarves for women in Iran in the context of the Soviet campaign to "emancipate" Central Asian and Caucasian women in the 1920s. The audio book of Red Valkyries is now available on Audible and Spotify or...
In this episode Kristen Ghodsee reads a newspaper article from the periodical Current Opinion from 18 January 1918, just months after the Russian Revolution. The article, "Madame Kollontay: Heroine of the Bolsheviki Upheaval In Petrograd," is a profile of Kollontai by an American newspaper using Swiss sources. Much of the information is incorrect, and the article draws on many negative stereotypes about women in positions of power. This is the first episode of Season 5 as the podcast p...
In this episode, Kristen Ghodsee finally finishes the second essay in the 1919 pamphlet, "Women Worker's Struggle for Their Rights," where Kollontai implicitly acknowledges the important work of bourgeois feminists in ensuring that socialist men took women's issues seriously. Send us a text Thanks so much for listening. This podcast has no Patreon-type account and receives no funding. There are no ads and there is no monetization. If you would like to support the work being done here, p...
After a three-month hiatus while she dealt with the aftermath of a nasty bout of COVID-19, Kristen Ghodsee returns for a two-part conversation with her daughter, who is now a junior at her university. These episodes explore questions of contemporary sexual politics on college campuses and whether Kollontai's work on "winged" and "wingless" eros can help to make better sense of the role that "hook-up" culture may or may not play in perpetuating the interests of capital. Mentioned in the...
After a three-month hiatus while she dealt with the aftermath of a nasty bout of COVID-19, Kristen Ghodsee returns for a two-part conversation with her daughter, who is now a junior at her university. These episodes explore questions of contemporary sexual politics on college campuses and whether Kollontai's work on "winged" and "wingless" eros can help to make better sense of the role that "hook-up" culture may or may not play in perpetuating the interests of capital. Mentioned in the...
Kristen Ghodsee (now dealing with long Covid) reads the second part of the essay, "Forms of Organization of Women Workers in the West ," which is the second essay in the pamphlet, "Women Workers Struggle for Their Rights" published in 1919. Mentioned in this episode is a 50% discount code for the new book from Verso: Red Valkyries: Feminist Lessons from Five Revolutionary Women. (Only valid until July 30, 2022) You can also subscribe to Kristen Ghodsee's (very occasional) free newsletter. ...
Kristen Ghodsee (recovering from Covid) reads the first part of the essay, "Forms of Organization of Women Workers in the West ," which is the second essay in the pamphlet, "Women Workers Struggle for Their Rights" published in 1919. Subscribe to Kristen Ghodsee's (very occasional) free newsletter. You'll get maybe one newsletter every 2 to 3 months. Also, here is a 50% discount code for the new book from Verso: Red Valkyries: Feminist Lessons from Five Revolutionary Women. Send us a text ...
Kristen Ghodsee (with Covid) reads the fourth part of the essay, "The Socialist Movement of Women Workers in Different Countries," part of the pamphlet, "Women Workers Struggle for Their Rights" published in 1918. Mentioned in this episode is the run-off election for the French National Assembly. President Emmanuel Macron's coalition did lose their parliamentary majority. The left coalition NUPES (New Ecological and Social Popular Union), led by Jean-Luc Mélenchon, could now be the se...
Kristen Ghodsee reads the third part of the essay, "The Socialist Movement of Women Workers in Different Countries," part of the pamphlet, "Women Workers Struggle for Their Rights" published in 1918. Mentioned in this episode is the article about August Bebel, "Socialists Have Long Fought for Women’s Liberation," in Jacobin Magazine. Subscribe to Kristen Ghodsee's (very occasional) free newsletter. You'll get maybe one newsletter every 2 to 3 months. Also, here is a 50% discount code for ...
In response to a leaked Supreme Court opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark decision that guaranteed all American women autonomy over their own bodies, Kristen Ghodsee reflects on the Romanian experience as well as a 1936 interview with Kollontai on the reversal of the 1920 Soviet law that made the Soviet Union the first country in the world to grant women access to abortion. In this interview Kollontai explains: "As long as women or men live under the pressure of unemployme...
Kristen Ghodsee reads the second part of the essay, "The Socialist Movement of Women Workers in Different Countries," part of the pamphlet, "Women Workers Struggle for Their Rights" published in 1918. Mentioned in this episode is Jodi Dean's great book, Comrade. Subscribe to Kristen Ghodsee's (very occasional) free newsletter. You'll get maybe one newsletter every 2 to 3 months. Send us a text Thanks so much for listening. This podcast has no Patreon-type account and receives no funding. ...
Kristen Ghodsee reads Alexandra Kollontai's 1918 pamphlet: "Women Workers Struggle for their Rights." Mentioned in this episode are the blurbs for Red Valkyries: Feminist Lessons from Five Revolutionary Women, forthcoming with Verso Books in July. “Written with clarity and zest, Red Valkyries is an illuminating introduction to the extraordinary lives of prominent socialist women in the Soviet Union and Bulgaria.” —Sheila Rowbotham, author of Daring to Hope “In our historical moment, quotas...
In this bonus episode, Kristen Ghodsee speaks with an anarchist activist recently returned from a pipeline resistance camp (who wished to remain anonymous). They discuss theories of organizing for successful social movements, and the lingering fears of the vanguard party that haunt the left. Mentioned in this episode are the books: Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity Through This Crisis (and the Next), by Dean Spade Neither Vertical nor Horizontal: A Theory of Political Organization, by Rodrigo...
For the 100th episode of A.K. 47, Kristen Ghodsee reads Alexandra Kollontai's 1915 speech, "The Third International," which she delivered in the United States while rallying Americans against World War I. Send us a text Thanks so much for listening. This podcast has no Patreon-type account and receives no funding. There are no ads and there is no monetization. If you would like to support the work being done here, please spread the word, share with your friends and networks, and consi...
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