Kind: Listens

Listened to After the Crisis: Socialist Economics for Corbynism from novaramedia.com

James Butler is joined by James Meadway, former advisor to John McDonnell, to discuss the economics of Corbynism: the roots and aftermath of the 2008 crash, the new policy horizons of the Labour left, and a socialist economics for the 21st century.

Good discussion about some ideas for a socialist economics for the 21st century.   Lots of stuff in there, including some positive mentions of decentralised manufacturing and energy, and cooperatives.
Listened to Thomas Sankara: by Revolutionary Left Radio from revolutionaryleftradio.libsyn.com

 Comrade Slasher from Nigeria joins Breht to talk about the life, politics, and legacy of Marxist revolutionary and Pan-African leader of Burkina Faso, Thomas Sankara. 

I don’t know the full history but Thomas Sankara sounds like he was a genuinely radical and revolutionary leader. Anti-capitalist, anti-imperialist, feminist. Public education and health policies. Assassinated.

https://revolutionaryleftradio.libsyn.com/sankara-the-che-of-africa

Listened to Revolutionary Left Radio: Gothic Marxism: The Horror Genre and the Monsters of Neoliberalism from revolutionaryleftradio.libsyn.com

Jon sits down with Brett to discuss Gothic Marxism. Topics Include: Gothic literature, Karl Marx, Neoliberalism as a mode and style of vacuous politics, Nihilism, Nostalgia, Postmodernism, Centrism, Films as Cultural Dreams, Zombies, Vampires, and much, much more!

Interesting thoughts on the interpretation of current political/economic state of a society through its horror (art and movies).  I’m not really a big horror fan, but I certainly like the idea of art and culture as lenses on society.
Listened to Episode 21: Worker Cooperatives & System Change with Esteban Kelly from TheNextSystem.org

What role can worker coops play as part of a movement for system change?

Really enjoyed this interview with Esteban Kelly of the US Federation of Worker Cooperatives.

Hits some great points like common misconceptions of worker coops (e.g. totally flat structure); the question of ‘get big’ vs ‘replicate’; how coops avoid boom bust cycles.

Interesting distinction of anti-capitalist and acapitalist, that’s a new one on me.

https://thenextsystem.org/learn/stories/episode-21-worker-cooperatives-system-change-esteban-kelly

Episode 21: Worker Cooperatives & System Change with Esteban Kelly

Listened to Worker Cooperatives Part 2: Islands Within a Sea of Capitalism from Upstream Podcast

The second episode in our Worker Cooperative series takes a deep dive into the Mondragon Cooperative Corporation, the largest network of federated cooperatives in the world.

Another great episode of Upstream. It discusses the coops of Mondragon, and the challenges they faced as they got bigger and brushed up against the global capitalist system. And discusses Cooperation Jackson and their learnings from Mondragon. Emphasises the need for strong political direction in addition to forming coops.

I like the metaphor of islands of coops forming in the sea of capitalism, and eventually they all join up.

https://www.upstreampodcast.org/workercoops2

Upstream Podcast

Listened to Revolutionary Left Radio: Anarchism: Philosophy and History (with Dr. Mark Bray) from revolutionaryleftradio.libsyn.com

Brett sits down with Dr. Mark Bray to discuss the political philosophy, history, and future of Anarchism.   Topics include: Bakunin and Marx, the first international, the Spanish Civil War, Stalinism, listener questions, the anarchist view of the State, Occupy Wall Street, Antifa, and much more!

Really good interview with Mark Bray covering some history of anarchism, discussion of different tendencies, where it overlaps and differs from Marxism and other revolutionary socialist approaches. Current approaches to organising.

 

Revolutionary Left Radio: Anarchism: Philosophy and History (with Dr. Mark Bray)

Listened to "There’s No App For That" – Interview with Richard Heinberg from teamhuman.fm

Playing for Team Human today is Post Carbon Institute fellow Richard Heinberg. Richard is the co-author of Our Renewable Future and most recently, the manifesto, There’s No App For That.

Nice interview with Richard Heinberg by Douglas Rushkoff.  He questions what role technology should play in the solution to the current existential crises facing humanity, and advocates for community resilience – building local, grassroots connections as a way to respond to these challenges.

http://teamhuman.fm/episodes/ep-57-richard-heinberg/

Ep. 57 Richard Heinberg “There’s No App For That”

Listened to
Didn’t know much about this, but there’s a pretty dark history to the origins of policing – intertwined with colonialism, slavery, and industrial capitalism.  And plenty of present issues, like the militarisation of the police force.  Like, for example, does the local police really need grenade launchers?