Revolutionary Left Radio

Alyson and Breht discuss the student-led protests for Palestine sweeping across American universities, the reaction to them by the ruling class elite and their attack dogs (the cops), lessons learned from previous movements over the past decade or so, parallels to 1968 and the anti-Vietnam War protests, the current negotiations between the Palestinian resistance and Israel, and what it all means for the broader crisis (geopolitical and internal) racking the U.S.

---------------------------------------------

Support Rev Left Radio

Follow Rev Left on IG 

This is a teaser for our other show, Shoeless in South Dakota... a podcast about mental health, addiction, recovery, comedy, friendship, philosophy, self-help (and a million other things). To listen to the rest of THIS episode, and all of our other Shoeless episodes, check us out at:

https://www.shoelessinsouthdakota.com/

In this episode of Guerrilla History, we get into part 2 of our 4 part miniseries on modern Chinese history featuring Ken Hammond (and guest host Breht O'Shea of Revolutionary Left Radio) with this absolutely terrific discussion on the Chinese Revolution & Civil War!  If you haven't already listened to part 1 of the series, on the Taiping and Boxer Rebellions, be sure to do so because we pick up right where we left off last time.  The next two installments will cover the Great Leap Forward and the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, and then the Reform period up to the present day, so be sure to not miss any of those upcoming episodes!

Ken Hammond is Professor of East Asian and Global History at New Mexico State University. He has been engaged in radical politics since his involvement in the anti-war movement at Kent State in 1968-70.  Ken is also the author of the book China’s Revolution & the Quest for a Socialist Future.

Shoeless in South Dakota: In this third edition of our All Too Human interview series, Breht and Dave welcome Niko into the Shoeless Shed to have an honest conversation about his struggles with alcoholism.  With these All Too Human interviews, we aim to highlight and destigmatize the mental health and addiction struggles of regular working class people in hopes that we can provide insight into this type of human suffering, help others who struggle with similar things feel less alone, and deepen our understanding of the modern human condition.

Outro music: 'Hundreds of Ways' by Conor Oberst 

----------------------

Contact us, support us, follow us, or learn more about the show here: https://www.shoelessinsouthdakota.com

In this episode, Alyson and Breht wrestle with the possible rise of artificial general intelligence and its implications. Together they discuss the Silicon Valley Techno-Cult and their dark religious search for immortality, their hubristic attempts to "build god" and escape death, their neoliberal subjectivities and how that manifests in their work, how AI might manifest under the capitalist mode of production, the horrors and contradictions of "capitalism without workers", deflationary critiques of AI, humans as transitional creatures, consciousness and its complexities, intelligence without consciousness (philosophical zombies), Nietzchean nihilism, real religion and what it offers, embracing the inevitability of your own death, and much more!

---------

Support Rev Left

Shoeless in South Dakota: In this first edition of our All Too Human interview series, Breht and Dave welcome "Katie", Breht's sister, into the studio to have an honest conversation about her struggles with alcohol and gambling.  With these All Too Human interviews, we aim to highlight and destigmatize the mental health and addiction struggles of normal working people in hopes that we can provide insight into this type of human suffering, help others who struggle with similar things feel less alone, and deepen our understanding of the modern human condition.

Learn more about Shoeless in South Dakota: ShoelessInSouthDakota.com

Check out the Inaugural Episode of Shoeless HERE

Subscribe to Shoeless in South Dakota on your preferred podcast app.

Musa Springer, Erica Caines, & Onyesonwu Chatoyer from Hood Communist join Breht O'Shea to discuss their participation in The Second International Meeting of Theoretical Publications of Left Parties and Movements in Havana, Cuba before discussing the history and current events playing out in Haiti. Together they converse about their time in Cuba, the various speeches they gave at the event, the ongoing embargo and its impacts, recent protests in Cuba, internationalism, the Zone of Peace campaign by the Black Alliance for Peace, US imperialism, the history of colonialism in Haiti, current events in Haiti, how Haiti is portrayed by Western corporate media, and much more!

Links:

In this episode of Guerrilla History, we launch our 4 part miniseries on modern Chinese history featuring Ken Hammond (and guest host Breht O'Shea of Revolutionary Left Radio) with this terrific discussion on the Taiping and Boxer Rebellions!  Be sure to go back and listen to the previous episode we did with Ken in the fall, which serves as a bit of an introductory work for this miniseries. The other three installments will drop every other week (with other episodes in between), and will cover the Chinese Revolution/Civil War, the Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution, and the Reform period, so be sure to subscribe to not miss any of those coming episodes!

Ken Hammond is Professor of East Asian and Global History at New Mexico State University. He has been engaged in radical politics since his involvement in the anti-war movement at Kent State in 1968-70.  Ken is also the author of the book China’s Revolution & the Quest for a Socialist Future.

This is a small extract from a much larger patreon exclusive episode. To get access to the full episode, and over 300 other patreon exclusive episodes, join our patreon at: patreon.com/revleftradio

Listen to the first installment of this four-episode series HERE

Kenneth J. Hammond is Professor of History at New Mexico State University. Hammond was a student and Students for a Democratic Society leader at Kent State University from 1967 to 1970. He later (1985) completed his degree in Political Science, then studied Modern Chinese language at the Beijing Foreign Languages Normal School in Beijing. Hammond received an M.A. in Regional Studies - East Asia (1989), and a Ph.D in History and East Asian Languages (1994) from Harvard University. In 2007, Hammond was appointed director of the Confucius Institute, a cultural initiative funded in part by Hanban on the NMSU campus that is dedicated to studying and publicizing China and Chinese culture. He is the editor of the journal Ming Studies. 

Follow Guerrilla History on X

Follow Guerrilla History on IG

Subscribe to Guerrilla History on your preferred podcast app

Support Rev Left Radio

Black Red Guard returns to the show for a no-holds-barred, wide-ranging discussion on a multitude of topics, including Palestine, Aaron Bushnell, the DSA, line struggle, party building, Taiwan, revolution, the future, and much more!

Check out BRG's YT Channel HERE

Follow BRG on Twitter HERE

Check out his Twitch  HERE

Outro Music: To Cause Your Own Death by Mon Rovia

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Get 15% off any book in the Left Wing Books Library HERE

Support Rev Left Radio

Follow Rev Left on IG 

Alyson and Breht explain and explore this famous text from Karl Marx, in the process they discuss French history, class conflict, the peasantry and lumpenproletariat, Bonapartism and Fascism, history, the role of the State under capitalism, and how all of this helps us to make sense of our contemporary moment of crisis in the US and around the world. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Support Rev Left and get immediate access to over 300 bonus episodes, with new ones coming every month!

This unlocked patreon episode was originally released Feb. 27th 2024

To get access to more bonus episodes like this every month, and support the show, join our patreon at patreon.com/revleftradio

---------------------------------------------

In this patreon exclusive, Breht reads and reflects on Buddhist writings including Thich Nhat Hanh's letter to MLK Jr. regarding Buddhist monks in Vietnam engaging in self-immolation and how it differs from suicide,  and a response by John Peacock to criticism by Slavoj Zizek of so-called Western Buddhism wherein he argues that mindfulness meditation is merely a way to cope with the depravities of capitalism; a new Opium of the Masses. 

Along the way, Breht takes many detours, and touches on the self-immolation and martyrdom of Aaron Bushnell, the ongoing multi-faceted evolution of the human species, and much more.  

Check out other Rev Left episodes on Buddhism and related topics, including the ones mentioned in this episode HERE 

Musa and Tunde from the ATL chapter of the Black Alliance for Peace join Breht to discuss the GILEE Program (Georgia International Law Enforcement Exchange) and its implications, the construction of Cop City (and the plans for more), the militarization of police in an era of capitalist and liberal crisis, Israel and its connections to GILEE, the Palestinian Liberation movement, "Black Mecca" and its class contradictions, and what all this means for our near-future...

Check out BAP-Atlanta HERE

Check out the Groundings Podcast HERE

Check out Demilitarize US to Palestine HERE

Follow BAP on Twitter or on Insta

Outro Song by Liberation Beats

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Get 15% off any book in the Left Wing Books Library HERE

Support Rev Left Radio

Follow Rev Left on IG 

Josh Fernandez joins the show to discuss his new biography "The Hands That Crafted the Bomb: The Making of a Lifelong Antifascist". Together Josh and Breht have a wide ranging conversation on antifascism, teaching, prison, organizing, parenting, drug and alcohol abuse, and much more. 

Check out the book HERE

Check out an article about Josh from The Real News HERE

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Follow Rev Left on Insta

Support Rev Left Radio and get access to multiple bonus episodes a month

After a wonderful 3 and half years, Breht and Producer Dave are bidding farewell to Guerrilla History. Henry and Adnan will continue the program. In this episode, they all reflect on their time together and promise to keep collaborating when and where possible going forward!

Please Subscribe to Guerrilla History on your preferred podcast app. 

Support Guerrilla History HERE and follow them HERE

Check out Shoeless in South Dakota HERE

Follow Shoeless in South Dakota HERE

Rest in Peace, Aaron. Free Palestine! 

"To burn oneself by fire is to prove that what one is saying is of the utmost importance. There is nothing more painful than burning oneself. To say something while experiencing this kind of pain is to say it with utmost courage, frankness, determination, and sincerity."

- Thich Nhat Hanh in a letter to MLK Jr. regarding the self-immolation of Vietnamese Buddhist monks

This is a snippet from a much longer patreon exclusive episode. To listen to the full episode and support the show at the same time, CLICK HERE

On this episode of Red Menace, Alyson and Breht had some things come up such that they couldn't record their planned episode on Marx's 18th Brumaire (coming soon!), so instead they have a deep, organic and wide-ranging conversation on mysticism; together they explore humanities religious and spiritual traditions and the mystical strain within them, discuss atheism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, Sufism, mystical experiences, the role of suffering, holy union and oneness, the dissolution of subject/object duality, the role of psychedelics historically and experientially, dialectics, and whether or not any of this has any relevance for political struggle.

Support Rev Left HERE

Check out all Red Menace Eps HERE

Follow us on IG HERE

All Music by Mount Eerie

Passy and Maurice from Friends of the Congo join Breht to discuss the history and the present of the Congo. Together, they discuss their organization, Passy's on-the-ground organizing in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the history of the Congo, Patrice Lumumba and his legacy, European and Belgian colonialism, King Leopold II, the brutal ongoing violence and displacement occuring in the Eastern DRC, US imperialism and the Kagame Regime in Rwanda, M23, Neo-Colonialism, Colbalt and rare-earth mineral mining, modern day slavery and the industries it serves, the so-called "green capitalist transition" and its rotting underbelly, and much more.

Friends of the Congo (FOTC) is a Pan African solidarity organization raising global consciousness about the challenges and potential of the Congo.

Become A Friend of the Congo:

Follow Rev Left on Insta

Support Rev Left Radio and get access to multiple bonus episodes a month

Matthew Furlong returns for another installment of our Dialectics Deep Dive Series.

Together, they discuss Althusser, Hegel, Dialectical Materialism, Marxism, Palestine, process philosophy, and much more!

Get 15% off any book in the Left Wing Books Library HERE

Interview referenced in the episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZDGvT04sNA&ab_channel=BreakThroughNews

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Support Rev Left Radio

Follow Rev Left on IG 

In this fouth installment of our ongoing W.E.B. Du Bois series, Breht and PM sit down with Saudia Durrant and Geo Maher from the W.E.B. Du Bois Movement School for Abolition and Reconstruction. Together, they discuss Du Bois, their organization, abolition, the struggle for socialism and communism, the failure of reconstruction, the Palestinian liberation struggle, Cop City in Atlanta, and much more. Follow PM on Twitter or Insta

Follow Rev Left on Insta

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Support Rev Left Radio and get access to multiple bonus episodes a month

Breht got invited onto Left of the Projector to discuss Soviet filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky's famous sci-fi film from 1972 "Solaris" with Evan and Amanda. Together, they discuss and analyze the film, exploring the human condition, the subconscious, modernist subjectivity, alienation, our fear of death, the Cold War, spiritual experience, the central importance of Love, Stanley Kubrick, and much more in the process. 

This is extracted from a larger patreon bonus episode; to listen to the full episode, hundreds of other bonus episodes, AND support the show, go to: https://www.patreon.com/RevLeftRadio

Check out our Instagram HERE

In this episode of Guerrilla History, we bring back the official unofficial fourth member of the hosting panel, Alexander Aviña!  Here we discuss Alex's freshly released article at Foreign Exchanges titled A Future of Walls or Liberation, which examines some of the role and relationships between "Israel" and the countries and governments in Latin America.  This is a really interesting piece of the Zioimperialist story, and one which is frankly very under-discussed.  Tune in, learn something, and share with others who you think would also benefit from hearing this history!

Alexander Aviña is associate professor of Latin American history at Arizona State University and author of Specters of Revolution: Peasant Guerrillas in the Cold War Mexican Countryside. Alex's website is available at alexanderavina.com, and he can be followed on twitter @Alexander_Avina

Help support the show by signing up to our patreon, where you also will get bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/guerrillahistory 

Dr. Joy James joins Breht and PM for the third installment of Rev Left's ongoing Du Bois series, but this conversation goes well beyond the life and work of Du Bois to cover James' newest book, her long history of organizing, the history of black liberation struggles in the US, and much more. Together, they discuss George Jackson, James' concept of the Captive Maternal, Erica Garner, "New Bones Abolition", Marxism, black history, Ida B. Wells, and much more. Overall its a wide-ranging conversation with an incredibly wise and experienced revolutionary intellectual. 

Dr. James is Ebenezer Fitch Professor of Humanities at Williams College. Her book is New Bones Abolition: Captive Maternal Agency and the (After)life of Erica Garner.  Proceeds from New Bones Abolition: Captive Maternal Agency and the (After)Life of Erica Garner go to Prison Radio.

Follow PM on IG

Check out Dr. Joy James on Millennials are Killing Capitalism HERE & HERE

Get 15% off any book from Leftwingbooks.net 

Outro Music: "Sorrow Tears and Blood" by Fela Kuti

Support Rev Left Radio 

If you enjoy these monologue-style episodes and want to support the show and get access to multiple bonus episodes like this every single month, you can do so HERE

UNLOCKED: Breht opens this Patreon episode with a discussion of American politics, talks about Lenin's anaysis of what makes for a revolutionary situation, and then he reads, reflects upon, and comments on an article by Ahjamu Umi from Hood Communist titled "The Unknown Relationship between Malcolm X and Kwame Nkrumah"

Nicholas Richard-Thompson and Tunde Osazua from the Black Alliance for Peace join Breht to discuss the life and legacy of Kwame Nkrumah. Together, they discuss the Ghanaian Marxist and Pan-Africanist politician, political theorist, and revolutionary, his upbringing, his entrance into Ghanaian and African politics, his political ideology, the many assassination attempts on his life, the coup that overthrew him and who backed it (just take a guess...), his life in exile, his continuing legacy on the continent and beyond, and much more!    Learn more and support Black Alliance for Peace    Follow Nicholas on Twitter    Follow Tunde on Twitter   BAP Chicago's Twitter     IMPORTANT: As the PAIGC/A-APRP is an active member of BAP's U.S Out of Africa Network (USOAN), and As the PAIGC is facing dire political repression within Guinea Bissau due to its substantial revolutionary gains against neo-colonialism in that country,   We therefore call on BAP and the USOAN to mobilize immediate support for the PAIGC/A-APRP.   Please read the following for background information:

Support Rev Left Radio 

Everett from The Age of Napoleon and Arjun from Deep into History join Breht to discuss Napoleon Bonaparte. Together they explore and reflect on the new film by Ridley Scott, the actual history involved and what the film got wrong, Napoleon's real personality, the importance of the French Revolution in Napoleon's rise, the reaction to the French Revolution and Napoleon from the rest of Europe, Napoleon's treatment of Haiti, Napoleon's exile and death, and then they grapple with the question of how the socialist left today should view and understand Napoleon. 

Outro Song: Napoleon's Hat by Bright Eyes

https://leftwingbooks.net/discount/REVLEFT

-------------------------------------------------------

Support Rev Left Radio: https://www.patreon.com/RevLeftRadio

In this Rev Left Family Annual Collab (Rev Left+Red Menace+Guerrilla History), Alyson, Henry, Adnan, and Breht sit down for a deep dive on South African Apartheid. Together they discuss its euro-colonialist origins, explain the significance of the Boer Wars, define and explicate the origins of apartheid, explore the political economy of apartheid and how brutal racism shaped it, examine the multi-faceted indigenous resistance to apartheid, analyze the end of formal apartheid as well as its ongoing legacy in post-apartheid South Africa, and try to extract important lessons from this history to apply to the ongoing struggle in Palestine. -------------------------------------------------------

Support Rev Left Radio: https://www.patreon.com/RevLeftRadio

or make a one time donation: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/revleft

This episode is from our sister podcast Guerrilla History, subscribe to it on your preferred podcast app!

In this absolutely fabulous episode of Guerrilla History, we bring back on the one and only Dr. CBS, Charisse Burden-Stelly!  Here, we discuss her outstanding new book Black Scare/Red Scare: Theorizing Capitalist Racism in the United States.  This work focuses on how anti-radical repression (especially anti-communist repression) is infused and inseparable with anti-Black racial oppression, and vice versa.  This is a critical work by one of the most critical voices in our times, and we think that this conversation is a truly important one for everyone to hear!

Charisse Burden-Stelly is associate professor of African American studies at Wayne State University. She is the coauthor (alongside Gerald Horne) of W.E.B. Du Bois: A Life in American History and the coeditor (alongside Jodi Dean) of Organize, Fight, Win: Black Communist Women’s Political Writing.  Join the Black Alliance for Peace or BAP Solidarity Network, keep up with Dr. CBS's work by checking out her website www.charisseburdenstelly.com, and follow her on twitter @blackleftaf.

Help support the show by signing up to our patreon, where you also will get bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/guerrillahistory

Corey Mohler from Existential Comics returns to the show to discuss the famous novel (and its many adaptations) by Victor Hugo "Les Misérables". Together they discuss the novel, its various adaptations, its political and social themes, 19th Century France, the "Giants of '93", read some passages from the book, and discuss its ongoing legacy and relevance for us today!

Check out Existential Comics HERE 

Check our all our previous episodes with Corey on a wide range of topics HERE

-------------------------------------------------------

Support Rev Left Radio: https://www.patreon.com/RevLeftRadio

or make a one time donation: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/revleft

In this crossover episode that we have done in collaboration with our sister podcast Guerrilla History, we bring on Ashley Fataar to provide a primer into Apartheid in the South African context, and where we also begin to explore some of the parallels to the apartheid that the settler-colonial state of Israel is enforcing in occupied Palestine today.  This is a good introduction to the topic, and we plan on getting everyone in the RevLeft family (Breht, Henry, Adnan, & Alyson) together in the coming weeks to do a deep dive into apartheid in South Africa and where we can further explore these connections to what we are seeing today!  Be sure to listen to this conversation to prepare for that coming conversation, and be sure to subscribe to Guerrilla History, RevLeft, and Red Menace wherever you get your pods.

Ashley Fataar is a long time socialist activist and writer based in South Africa.  If you would like to get in touch with Ashley, you can reach him via email at ash.fataar@gmail.com.  

Help support the show by signing up to our patreon, where you also will get bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/guerrillahistory

Professor Matthew McManus returns to the show to discuss his newest book "The Political Right and Equality: Turning Back the Tide of Egalitarian Modernity"

Together they explore over 2,000 years of conservative, anti-egalitarian, and reactionary political thought to get a better understanding of what the political right believes, and where those beliefs come from. They discuss aristotle, the Englightenment, the French Revolution and the reaction it generated, Hegel, Dostoevsky, liberalism and socialism, Heigegger, and how conservative thought evolved throughout the 20th Century. 

Check out more of Matt's work HERE

Check out our previous episode on the politics of Nietzsche HERE

Check out our episode with Corey from Existential Comics on the life and work of Dostoevsky HERE

Outro Song: Rebel Music by Bob Marley and Krayzie Bone

-------------------------------------------------------

Support Rev Left Radio: https://www.patreon.com/RevLeftRadio

or make a one time donation: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/revleft

Alyson and Breht discuss the ongoing national liberation struggle in Palestine. Together, they discuss the incredible shift in public opinion on Israel and Palestine, the internal and external contradictions culminating in unison for Israel, the discussion about whether or not what Israel is doing is technically a genocide (it absolutely is), international law, Frantz Fanon on the psychology of national liberation, the prospects of a broader regional war, the possibilities of Turkish or Iranian engagement, the history and core elements of Zionism, the analytical importance of the settler colonial and decolonization frameworks, the disgusting role that Biden and the Democratic Party are playing in manufacturing consent for Israel's civilian mass murder campaign, the "lesser of two genocider" arguments being trotted out by liberals, how Hamas is basically an orphan army of men who have had their families killed by Israel in previous assaults, why we should reject the "terrorist" framing of the western ruling elites, what the palestinian resistance has managed to accomplish, and what might emerge from the Ruins of Gaza when all is said and done...

(recorded Oct. 30th 2023)

Support Rev Left Radio : https://www.patreon.com/RevLeftRadio

Nicholas Richard-Thompson and Tunde Osazua from the Black Alliance for Peace join Breht to discuss AFRICOM, or The United States Africa Command - responsible for U.S. military operations and imperialism on the continent. Together they discuss the ongoing conflict in Palestine, the connections between black liberation movements and palestinian liberation, BAP's Month of Action against AFRICOM, recent coups in West Africa, developments in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, the recent history of Libya, the role of French neo-colonialism on the continent, the revolutionary contributions of Patrice Lumumba and Kwame Nkrumah, and much more!      Learn more and support Black Alliance for Peace    Follow Nicholas on Twitter    Follow Tunde on Twitter   BAP Chicago's Twitter

Check out Rev Left's episode on Thomas Sankara

Revolution in Sahel?

Get 15% off any book from Leftwingbooks.net 

outro music 'Terrorist?'  by Lowkey

Support Rev Left Radio 

or make a one time donation: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/revleft

Breht listens and responds to a conversation between liberal Zionist Sam Harris and pseudo-intellectual charlatan Eric Weinstein on Israel, Palestine, Islam, and more. In the process he deconstructs common Zionist talking points, highlights the colonialist framework that liberals and Zionists take for granted, shows how regular working people can intellectually confront ivy league PhDs, and offers up lines of argumentation that you, dear listener, can bring to conversations on these topics in your own life.

Listen to the full episode here

UPSTREAM INTERVIEW W/ BREHT AND ALYSON: 

What Is To Be Done? This is the question so profoundly posed by the Russian Revolutionary and Bolshevik leader, Vladimir Lenin, in his landmark text of the same name. Although it was written well over a century ago, this text, the questions it asked, and the paths forward that it provided, are just as relevant today as they were a hundred years ago. And just as urgent.

What roles do spontaneity and disciplined organization have in leftist movements? Can we focus simply on economic reform, or do our actions need a larger political framework to structure, guide, and propel them? 

Why does it feel like even though so many of us are motivated to work towards structural change, that things continue to get worse? Why does it seem like potential revolutionary struggles in the West always seem to stall and fail to move from a singular moment to a protracted movement? 

These are old and familiar questions — a lot of ink has been spilled and speeches made exploring them — and in this Conversation, we’ve brought on two guests who've not only thought about these questions in depth, but who have some pretty compelling answers that draw from revolutionary theory and practice in both their personal lives and from the deep well of wisdom bequeathed by theorists Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Mao. 

Breht O’Shea is the host of the podcast Revolutionary Left Radio and a co-host of Guerrilla History. He’s been on the show multiple times so you may already be familiar with his voice. Alyson Escalate, who has also been on the show, is the co-host, along with Breht, of Red Menace, a podcast that explains and analyzes revolutionary theory and then applies its lessons to our contemporary conditions. 

Further Resources:

This episode of Upstream was made possible with support from listeners like you. Upstream is a labor of love — we couldn't keep this project going without the generosity of our listeners and fans. Please consider chipping in a one-time or recurring donation at www.upstreampodcast.org/support

If your organization wants to sponsor one of our upcoming documentaries, we have a number of sponsorship packages available. Find out more at upstreampodcast.org/sponsorship

For more from Upstream, visit www.upstreampodcast.org and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Bluesky.

In this critical episode of Guerrilla History, we bring on Max Ajl and Patrick Higgins to discuss some recent history and the ongoing situation regarding Palestinian resistance to the Zionist project and the ongoing bombardment on Gaza.  Max and Patrick provide some absolutely crucial information here, so be sure to tune in, and forward the episode along to anyone you think would benefit from it.

Our guests recommend you to donate to the Middle East Children's Alliance, read the work of Electronic Intifada and Mondoweiss, as well as follow their respective social media pages @intifada and @Mondoweiss, and keep up to date with the Palestinian Youth Movement and Within Our Lifetime.

Max Ajl is a postdoctoral researcher at the Ghent University, and is author of the fantastic A People's Green New Deal.  Read Max's other written work on his Researchgate page.  Max also has a twitter page, but you must find it yourself!

Patrick Higgins is a researcher at the University of Houston's Center for Arab Studies.  You can find Patrick's writings on the internet by searching for his name and his affiliation, or with the keyword Palestine.

Help support the show by signing up to our patreon, where you also will get bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/guerrillahistory 

Breht returns with another monologue episode on the ever-evolving war in Palestine, this time with a focus on the history of the Nakba, the weakness of a two state solution, the widening global implications of the conflict, and where things might be headed...

Breht discusses the current situation in Palestine, helps listeners navigate and dismantle common Zionist talking points, and (hopefully) brings some much needed moral clarity and intellectual honesty to a topic that, especially in the West, often lacks both...

Originally Aired on Dec 22, 2019

In our third and final installment of "The Wretched of the Earth" Alyson and Breht summarize, examine, and apply the lessons of the final chapter and conclusion of Frantz Fanon's masterpiece work, then they reflect on the text as a whole.

Originally aired on Nov 23, 2019

In our second installment of "The Wretched of the Earth" Alyson and Breht summarize, examine, and apply the lessons of the third and fourth chapters of Frantz Fanon's masterpiece work. 

 Originally Aired on Oct 22, 2019

In our first installment of "The Wretched of the Earth" Alyson and Breht summarize, examine, and apply the lessons of the first two chapters of Frantz Fanon's masterpiece work.

Originally aired on Jun 3, 2021

In this classic mini-episode, Alyson Escalante summarizes and analyzes the history of Jewish Anti-Zionism. 

Originally aired on May 30, 2021 In this classic episode, Alyson and Breht use texts from Fanon, Cesaire, Mao, and Lenin to help make sense of the Israeli occupation of Palestine, the history of zionism, the role of the United States in the conflict, and more. They define settler colonialism and imperialism, show how they are operative in the conflict, and then have a wide ranging conversation on the recent attack on Gaza, ongoing Isreali settlements, the principle contradiction of the conflict, why we should advocate for a one state solution instead of a two state solution, the importance of BDS, and more! 

Support Rev Left Radio on Patreon

or make a one time donation

Chase from Mass Struggle joins Breht to discuss American labor history and communist political theory in relation to the trade union struggle through the lens of TUEL, or the Trade Union Educational League (1920 -1929). Together they discuss trade union consciousness, the necessity of a vanguard party, William Z. Foster, the limitations of spontaneity, specific actions taken by TUEL in their struggle against bosses and labor beurocrats, the importance of revolutionary theory, and then they even have a comradely back and forth over the differences between MLs and MLMs on the question of China. Chase on instagram: @massstrugglepod     Emails for contact: massstrugglepod@protonmail.com; aj5284@proton.me; lenniM17@proton.me     Link to the Vote No episode      Recommended Reading: From Bryan to Stalin     Outro Music: "Vote No (Which Side Are You On)" by Space Baby ft. Red Teamsters and Math Rock Matt Follow Space Baby on Insta HERE   --------------------------  

Support Rev Left Radio on Patreon

or make a one time donation

EARLY RELEASE: Jared from Millennials are Killing Capitalism podcast invited Breht on to talk about Friedrich Engels' draft to the Communist Manifesto entitled Principles of Communism! 

Together, they discuss the document, highlight and explain its theoretical substance, and have a wide-ranging discussion about Communist political theory, connecting the past to the present in the process. 

Get 15% off any book from Leftwingbooks.net HERE

Support Rev Left Radio on Patreon

or make a one time donation

In this outstanding episode of Guerrilla History, we bring on Jon Melrod to discuss his new book Fighting Times: Organizing on the Front Lines of the Class War (use code FIGHTING to get 40% off)!  In this episode, we discuss the life and times of Jon, who in many ways is a real working class hero.  We talk about his early embrace of radical political ideology, his radical campus organizing, his 13 years fighting in and organizing within industrial factories in Wisconsin, his rise within the UAW, and his post-factory work as a lawyer representing political refugees and victims of police violence.  This conversation is really inspiring, and we cannot recommend enough that you pick up the book, read it with fellow workers, and share this episode with those you think would benefit!

Jon Melrod is a journalist, activist, and lawyer that left the campus for the factory in 1973. For thirteen years, he immersed himself in the day-to-day struggles of Milwaukee’s working class, both on the factory floor and in the political arena. Despite FBI surveillance and interference, Jon organized a militant rank-and-file caucus and rose through union ranks to a top leadership position in UAW Local 72. After this part of his career, he opened a law firm in San Francisco, successfully representing hundreds of political refugees.  You can follow Jon on twitter @JonathanMelrod, and keep up with his latest work and read more about his story on his website jonathanmelrod.com.

Help support the show by signing up to our patreon, where you also will get bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/guerrillahistory 

Teddy Ostrow and Maximillian Alvarez from The Real News Network join Breht to discuss the recent "stand up" strike launched by the United Auto Workers labor union. Teddy and Max discuss the strike, explain the causes of the strike and the demands of the workers, the UAW union president Shawn Fain and the democratic election that put him in leadership, what this strike - and others like it - mean for the American working class, the importance of solidarity in the labor movement and beyond, why the working class should own what it produces, and much more!

Teddy's Interview with UAW President Shawn Fain Labor Notes 

In These Times 

The Upsurge Podcast 

Support Rev Left Radio on Patreon

or make a one time donation

Support Rev Left Radio on Patreon

or make a one time donation

Henry Hakamaki and Salvatore Engel-Di Mauro join Breht to discuss the new translation (by Henry and Salvatore) of Domenico Losurdo's Stalin: History and Critique of a Black Legend from Iskra Books. 

Henry Hakamaki is the co-creator and co-host of Guerrilla History. Salvatore Engel-Di Mauro is Professor at the Geography Department of SUNY New Paltz and is chief editor for the journal Capitalism Nature Socialism.  His book Socialist States and the Environment is available from Pluto Press. You can also find the journal Capitalism Nature Socialism for more invaluable anti-capitalist environmental perspectives.

music 'Damn the Working Man'  by Croy and the Boys

Support Rev Left Radio on Patreon

or make a one time donation

(This was originally a patreon exclusive episode. To get access to hundreds of bonus episodes like this one, join and support the show here: https://www.patreon.com/RevLeftRadio)

Arjun - from Deep into History - joins Breht to discuss their love of history, and a deep and wide-ranging conversation ensues...

- Support Deep into History HERE

- Deep into History on Apple

- OR find Deep into History on your preffered podcast app!

Dr. Charisse Burden-Stelly joins Breht and PM for a second installment of our Du Bois series, this one focusing on Du Bois' human rights and peace activism and how he tied that in with his revolutionary Marxism. Together they discuss Du Bois' political evolution, the influence of his friend, comrade and wife Shirley Graham Du Bois, his book "In Battle for Peace", DR. CBS' articles on Du Bois, the targeting and trial of Du Bois by the US State, what he meant by "real pacifism", the Black Alliance for Peace, and much more!  

Check out Dr. CBS' article “In Battle for Peace During Scoundrel Time”

Check out her upcoming book  "Black Scare / Red Scare: Theorizing Capitalist Racism in the United States

You can find PM on IG @worldmaking_  

Or find out more about him and his work HERE

Check out the Black Alliance for Peace and their Solidarity Network

music 'Balloons'  by Noname (feat. Jay Electronica & Eryn Allen Kane)

Support Rev Left Radio

or make a one time donation

Nick and Levi from The Intervention podcast are joined by Breht O'Shea of Rev Left Radio to discuss the history of the making of the New Deal "from below."  We talk about the movements and dynamics that forced concessions from the ruling class, the importance of understanding the New Deal in our current moment, and much, much more.

Check out The Intervention HERE or on your preffered podcast app

Follow them on insta HERE

Donate to help finish this important film here: https://earthsgreatestenemy.com/

In this episode of Guerrilla History, we are joined by Mike Prysner to discuss the devastating impact of the US military, and the forthcoming documentary that Mike and Abby Martin are putting together on this topic titled Earth's Greatest Enemy (watch the trailer here)! This is a critical and deeply underappreciated topic that we really appreciate Mike and Abby taking the effort to tell the story of.  Do us a favor, share this episode, and contribute to the finishing of Earth's Greatest Enemy if you are able to!

Mike Prysner is a co-founder of March Forward, a long time organizer with the ANSWER Coalition, and is on the National Board of Directors of Veterans for Peace.  He also is a producer and cowriter for The Empire Files.  You can find out more about the documentary and the information for how to contribute to it at earthsgreatestenemy.com.  Mike can be followed on twitter @MikePrysner, Empire Files is @EmpireFiles, and Eyes Left is @EyesLeftPod.

Help support the show by signing up to our patreon, where you also will get bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/guerrillahistory

Roxana and Enrique from the Black Rose Anarchist Federation join Breht to discuss their new political program, the analysis and strategy contained therein, the importance of organization for revolutionaries, their orientation toward Marxists in their organizing, platformism and Especifismo, the importance of internationalism, and more! Then Breht and Enrique discuss modern american history and current politics together.

Check out their political program and get a free pdf version of it, fully illustrated, here: https://blackrosefed.org/program-may-day-2023/

---

Rev Left Radio is 100% listener-funded! Please support the show and get access to our entire patreon backlog as well as hours and hours of bonus patreon exclusive content every single month: https://www.patreon.com/RevLeftRadio

Alyson and Breht finish their series on Friedrich Engels' text "The Origin of the Family, Private Property, and The State", and reflect on the text as a whole. Together, they wrestle with questions, like: What is family abolition? How do rich people buy extended, communal family? What happens to the family and romantic relationships under communism? Should people ever be treated like commodities? How does the title of the text reflect historical and dialectical materialism? and much more! 

Get access to multiple bonus episodes a month here: https://www.patreon.com/RevLeftRadio

Breht and Arjun from Deep into History join forces to have a wide-ranging discussion on 20th century American history, with a focus on the underlying racial and class dynamics of early to mid-century America that led to the rise of the Civil Rights Movement and then the Black Panther Party - specifically their preemminent organizer and leading revolutionary from Chicago Illinois, Chairman Fred Hampton. The conversation naturally takes many interesting and worthwhile detours along the way! 

Check out Deep into History's episode on Fred Hampton: Fred Said...

Check out Rev Left's episode on The Life and Legacy of Fred Hampton

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rev Left Radio is 100% listener-funded! Please support the show and get access to our entire patreon backlog as well as hours and hours of bonus patreon exclusive content every single month: https://www.patreon.com/RevLeftRadio

Breht joins Della from the wonderful podcast Upstream to discuss Buddhism and Marxism! From Upstream: "When you think about the philosophies and practices of Buddhism and Marxism, you might not immediately think that they have much in common. However, you might be surprised at how much overlap and complementary resonance there actually is between these two rich and beautiful traditions.

In this conversation, we’ve brought on Breht O’Shea, a Buddhist practitioner and Marxist political educator based out of Omaha, Nebraska. Breht is the host of the podcast Revolutionary Left Radio and co-host of the podcasts Red Menace, Guerrilla History, and, most recently, Shoeless in South Dakota. You might remember Breht from when he was on the show about a year ago to talk about revolutionary leftist theory.

In this conversation, we explore how both Buddhism & Marxism offer helpful pathways to liberation and provide a spot-on analysis of the root causes of suffering. We also explore some of the potential tensions between Buddhism and Marxism, as well as what each tradition can learn from the other. And we end with a powerful invitation to embark on the path of the Bodhisattva Revolutionary to both end the internal and structural causes and conditions of suffering and to bring forth the systemic changes necessary for the transition to a socialist and eventually communist economy based on liberation, equity, and justice for all.

This interview was inspired by an episode of Revolutionary Left Radio titled Dialectics & Liberation: Insights from Buddhism and Marxism where Breht read a speech he gave at Arizona State University on the topic of dialectical materialism, Buddhism, and Marxism. Definitely check that episode out when you’re done listening to this — it’s a great complement to this conversation.

Thank you to Carolyn Raider for this episode’s cover art and to Mount Eerie for the intermission music. Upstream theme music was composed by Robert Raymond/Lanterns.

Further Resources:

This episode of Upstream was made possible with support from listeners like you and by Resist Foundation. Upstream is a labor of love — we couldn't keep this project going without the generosity of our listeners and fans. Please consider chipping in a one-time or recurring donation at www.upstreampodcast.org/support

If your organization wants to sponsor one of our upcoming documentaries, we have a number of sponsorship packages available. Find out more at upstreampodcast.org/sponsorship

For more from Upstream, visit www.upstreampodcast.org 

These are random teaser snippets from an almost 2 hour long patreon episode!

For the full episode - and more exclusive content like this - join our patreon and help support the show:  https://www.patreon.com/RevLeftRadio

---------------------------------------

Here is the Hampton Institute article referenced in the episode: https://www.hamptonthink.org/read/cornel-west-the-pitfalls-of-bourgeois-politics-and-forging-a-new-future-among-the-rubble

Special, early access to an extended conversation about the imminent release of the new translation (by Henry and Salvatore) of Domenico Losurdo's Stalin: History and Critique of a Black Legend from Iskra Books.  The release of the book is imminent, and is available from the Iskra Books website, where it is currently linked at https://www.iskrabooks.org/copy-of-the-dark.

Salvatore Engel-Di Mauro is Professor at the Geography Department of SUNY New Paltz and is chief editor for the journal Capitalism Nature Socialism.  His book Socialist States and the Environment is available from Pluto Press:  https://www.plutobooks.com/9780745340418/socialist-states-and-the-environment/.  You can also find the journal Capitalism Nature Socialism for more invaluable anti-capitalist environmental perspectives: http://www.cnsjournal.org/.

David Peat is one of the editorial board members at the Center for Communist Studies and their imprint Iskra Books.  You can follow him on twitter @dajveism.

Help support the show by signing up to our patreon, where you also will get bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/guerrillahistory 

UNLOCKED PATREON EPISODE: Originally aired on June 2nd, 2023 

For more exclusive episodes like this, join our patreon and help support the show:  https://www.patreon.com/RevLeftRadio

Support Rev Left Radio: https://www.patreon.com/RevLeftRadio

Alyson and Breht discuss the recent rulings by the Supreme Court, a wildly anti-democratic, thoroughly corrupt, and staunchly reactionary institution that the American right has spent years and billions of dollars capturing in order to impose its minoritarian rule on an American majority that firmly rejects what they stand for. And they do it all without having to worry for even a second about pesky things getting in their way: like democracy, human rights, or basic accountability to the American people. 

ORIGINALLY RELEASED Jun 18, 2021

Kristen R. Ghodsee returns to the show, this time to discuss the life, work, and legacy of the famous Marxist Feminist Alexandra Kollontai. We discuss her life, her radicalization, her relationship with other famous revolutionaries, her role in the October Revolution, her enduring contributions to feminism, Marxism, and proletarian history, and much, much more. 

Check out Kristen's work here: https://kristenghodsee.com/

Check out AK-47, Kristen's podcast dedicated to Kollontai here: https://kristenghodsee.com/podcast

Here are all the previous episodes of RLR that Kristen has been a guest on:

Red Hangover: https://revolutionaryleftradio.libsyn.com/red-hangover-legacies-of-20th-century-communism-w-dr-kristen-r-ghodsee

International Women's Day: https://revolutionaryleftradio.libsyn.com/womens-day

Women Behind the Iron Curtain: https://revolutionaryleftradio.libsyn.com/women-under-socialism

Outro Music: "Blame Game" by Beach Bunny

Support Rev Left Radio: https://www.patreon.com/RevLeftRadio

ORIGINALLY RELEASED Dec 29, 2019

On this episode of Rev Left Radio, Zoe Samudzi returns to the show to reflect on the life, art, politics, and legacy of the one and only Nina Simone.

Check out Zoe and her work here: http://www.zoesamudzi.com/

Follow Zoe on Twitter @ztsamudzi

Listen to Zoe's other appearances on Rev Left here:

- https://revolutionaryleftradio.libsyn.com/critical-race-theory-and-black-liberation-w-zo-samudzi

- https://revolutionaryleftradio.libsyn.com/black-feminism-and-queer-theory-w-zoe-samudzi

Support Rev Left Radio: https://www.patreon.com/RevLeftRadio

ORIGINALLY RELEASED Apr 20, 2019

On this episode of Red Menace Alyson and Breht discuss 

What Is To Be Done? by V.I. Lenin

Full text here: https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1901/witbd/

The video episode can be found on youtube at: https://youtu.be/1lRM_fsjanE

--------

A very special thank you goes out to our Patreon supporters like: 

Zachary Stueland, Anton Pannekoek, Dillon Bussard, Dylan, HN, Das Chunk, Terrence Major, Walter Jay Gunn

Please Rate and Review Red Menace on iTunes. This dramatically helps increase our reach.

Support the Show and get access to bonus content on Patreon here:

https://www.patreon.com/TheRedMenace  Follow us on Twitter @The_Red_Menace

ORIGINALLY RELEASED May 16, 2020

A.M. Glittlitz joins Breht to talk about the Trotskyist sub-tendency of Posadism and discuss his new - and genuinely fascinating - book "I Want to Believe: Posadism, UFOs, and Apocalypse Communism"

Check out more of Glittlitz's work 

Follow him on Twitter

And check out his podcast  Outro music 'UFOF' by Big Thief

LEARN MORE ABOUT REV LEFT RADIO: www.revolutionaryleftradio.com

On the 50th anniversay of the US-backed fascist coup in Chile, we are re-uploading our classic episode on the topic!  ORIGINALLY RELEASED May 21, 2018

Professor of History at ASU, Alex Aviña, returns to RLR to discuss the Chilean coup of 1973.

Intro Music: Isle of Man by Feudalism 

Outro Music: Monsters by Bambu

Please support our show and get access to bonus content here: https://www.patreon.com/RevLeftRadio

ORIGINALLY RELEASED Jul 13, 2019

Matt Soener, an economic sociologist, joins Breht to discuss the Great Recession of 2008.

Here is the GoFundMe account for Kreetay Briggs Jr., a 12 year old boy hit by a stray bullet while he was playing on a beach: https://www.gofundme.com/f/35gjf-shooting-victim?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=fb_dn_cpgnstaticsmall_r

Outro Music: White Male Carnivore by Yak

Support Rev Left Radio: https://www.patreon.com/RevLeftRadio

ORIGINALLY RELEASED Feb 11, 2019

For the debut episode of Red Menace Alyson and Breht discuss Socialism: Utopian and Scientific by Friedrich Engels.

The video episode can be found on youtube at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKdxX5eqQyk

Outro Music by Adia Victoria - Invisible Hands Check out and support her beautiful music here: http://www.adiavictoria.com

ORIGINALLY RELEASED Jan 14, 2020

Prof. Todd McGowan, author of "Capitalism and Desire: The Psychic Costs of Free Markets" and co-host of "Why Theory", returns to the show to talk with Breht about Marxism and Psychoanalysis, Freud, Lacan, Death Drive, Desire, the fundamental sense of Lack at the core of our psyches, and much more!  Check out Todd's book here: http://cup.columbia.edu/book/capitalism-and-desire/9780231178723

Check out Todd's podcast Why Theory here: https://player.fm/series/why-theory

Outro music: 'Bowl of Oranges' by Bright Eyes

Find more of this music here: https://saddle-creek.com/collections/bright-eyes

-------------------

ORIGINALLY RELEASED Feb 24, 2019

Chuka Ejeckam joins Breht to discuss and pay homage to the Black Panther Party leader and Marxist Revolutionary, Fred Hampton.

Find and support Chuka and his work here: http://www.chukaejeckam.com/

Follow him on twitter @ChukaEjeckam

Outro music by: Dead Prez - Food, Clothes, Shelter

Support Rev Left Radio: https://www.patreon.com/RevLeftRadio

ORIGINALLY RELEASED Jul 25, 2019

On this episode of Red Menace Alyson and Breht discuss

On Contradiction by Mao

Full text here: https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/mao/selected-works/volume-1/mswv1_17.htm

Video version of this episode here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNnqmbRhcBQ

Check out Bad Mouse’s complementary video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k46uaDvnoYE

Outro Music by K. Flay - The President Has A Sex Tape

-------

ORIGINALLY RELEASED Jul 28, 2018

John from Working Class History joins Brett to discuss the Spanish Civil War! This is a long-anticipated episode on a deeply important and relevant historical event. We spent a LOT of time editing and producing this episode, so we hope you find it informative as well as genuinely moving. 

Follow Working Class History on all the major social media sites!

Outro Songs: Bitter Old Man and Your Heart is a Muscle the Size of Your Fist; both songs by Ramshackle Glory! Go support their music here: https://ramshackleglory.bandcamp.com

Support Rev Left Radio: https://www.patreon.com/RevLeftRadio

ORIGINALLY RELEASED Jun 21, 2020

Alex Aviña returns to RLR to discuss the Haitian Revolution!

Alexander Aviña is an associate professor of Latin American history in the School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies at Arizona State University. His book, "Specters of Revolution: Peasant Guerrillas in the Cold War Mexican Countryside" , was awarded the Maria Elena Martínez Book Prize in Mexican History for 2015 by the Conference on Latin American History.

Outro music 'Africa Hot!'  by Dead Prez and DJ Green Lantern

Support Rev Left Radio: https://www.patreon.com/RevLeftRadio

ORIGINALLY RELEASED Feb 3, 2022

In this episode, Alyson and Breht introduce, teach, and discuss the philosphy of two giants in western philosophy: Arthur Schopenhaur and Friedrich Nietzsche. 

They discuss their respective philosophies, how they relate, how they differ, the subsequent thinkers and movements they inspired or influened, their relation to politics right, left and center, their connection to eastern philosophies and religions, and much more! 

Support Red Menace: https://www.patreon.com/TheRedMenace

ORIGINALLY RELEASED Apr 4, 2020

Listen to the full Red Menace episode (from which this segment was extracted) here:  https://redmenace.libsyn.com/economic-and-philosophic-manuscripts-of-1844-karl-marx

Support Red Menace and get access to bonus monthly content on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/TheRedMenace

Outro music '9-5ers Anthem' by Aesop Rock

Support Rev Left Radio: https://www.patreon.com/RevLeftRadio

ORIGINALLY RELEASED Dec 9, 2019 

Danny Haiphong, co-author of American Exceptionalism and American Innocence: A People's History of Fake News--From the Revolutionary War to the War on Terror,joins Breht for a long, in-depth conversation about the stories that America tells itself about itself, and why those stories are false.

We cover so many topics and ideas that its impossible to summarize them all here, so check it out yourself!

Check out Danny's work at the Black Agenda Report here: https://www.blackagendareport.com/author/Danny%20Haiphong

Follow Danny on Twitter @SpiritOfHo 

Outro music: 'Craazy' by Rebel Diaz (feat. C-Rayz Walz)

Check out and Support Rebel Diaz here: https://rebeldiaz.com/

Support Rev Left Radio: https://www.patreon.com/RevLeftRadio

David from Anarchospirituality joins Breht to discuss Buddhism, Anarchism, Marxism, and more! After an introduction section, David gives a talk on Buddhism and Anarchism, and then he and Breht discuss the talk before launching into a wide-ranging discussion on anarchism v. marxism, Kropotkin, the Buddhist conception of Karma, individual and collective improvement and struggle, Darwinian evolution, differences between western and eastern approaches to spirituality, the question of revolutionary violence within Buddhism, and much more!     Learn more about Anarchospirituality and his work HERE   Check out Turn Leftist's interview HERE   Check out Breht's talk on Buddhism and Marxism HERE   Check out Red Menace's episode on Conquest of Bread HERE   Outro music: "LIFE" by Saba  

Support Rev Left Radio: https://www.patreon.com/RevLeftRadio

Professors James Crossley and Robert J. Myles join Breht to discuss their fascinating work "Jesus: A Life in Class Conflict" put out by Zero Book.  Together, they discuss their application of historical materalism to the life of Jesus, the difficulty of studying and sourcing the ancient past, the gospels and what they offer (as well as how they differ from one another), the mode of production and major classes of Jesus' era, John the Baptist and his ideological influence on the Jesus Movement, Jewish Millenarianism, Jesus' crucifiction, the Jesus Movement after Jesus' execution (and purported resurrection), and much more!     

Robert's website: https://www.robertjmyles.com/

James' website: https://censamm.org/about/people/crossley

Robert's Twitter: @robertjmyles

Robert's Substack: https://robertjmyles.substack.com/

James' work on John Ball and the English uprising of 1381: https://johnball1381.org/

Support Rev Left Radio: https://www.patreon.com/RevLeftRadio

Professor and author Kristen R. Ghodsee returns to Rev Left to discuss her newest book "Everyday Utopia: What 2,000 Years of Wild Experiments Can Teach Us About the Good Life". Together, her and Breht discuss intentional communities, social experiments, what utopia even means in this context, scientific v. utopian socialism, criticisms of the nuclear family and the socialist alternative, the function of student debt in modern america, the relationship between religious and spiritual orientations and radial social experimentation, public education, evolutionary biology, and more!

Check out the book here: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Everyday-Utopia/Kristen-R-Ghodsee/9781982190217

Check out previous Rev Left episodes with Kristen here: https://revolutionaryleftradio.libsyn.com/size/5/?search=ghodsee

Kristen's website: https://kristenghodsee.com/

The AK47 podcast created and hosted by Kristen: https://kristenghodsee.com/podcast

Support Rev Left Radio: https://www.patreon.com/RevLeftRadio

Professor and scholar Mohamed Abdou joins Breht to discuss his book "Islam and Anarchism: Relationships and Resonances". Together, they discuss core concepts within Islam, the importance of decolonization, anarchist political theory, the question of violence in revolutionary struggle, Mohamed's construction of Anarcha-Islam, contradictions between capitalism and Islamic teachings, and much more! Check out Mohamed's book here: https://www.plutobooks.com/9780745341927/islam-and-anarchism/   Find Mohamed's other work, learn more about him, and contact him here: https://www.mabdou.net/     Outro music: "Gather Round" by Brother Ali feat. Amir Sulaiman  

Support Rev Left Radio: https://www.patreon.com/RevLeftRadio

Professor of Medieval history, practicing Sufi Muslim, and Chair of the Religious Studies department at Queens college, Adnan Husain, joins Breht to discuss the interesting intersections of Islam and Marxism!   Outro music: "Ramadan" by Brother Ali  

Support Rev Left Radio: https://www.patreon.com/RevLeftRadio

This is part of a patreon exclusive episode. To listen to the full episode, and many more like it, join here: https://www.patreon.com/RevLeftRadio

UNLOCKED: Adnan Husain and Breht O'Shea from Guerrilla History discuss the current moral panic on the political right around issues of masculinity, dropping testosterone levels, and family formation. Together they discuss how the Right obscures the role of under-regulated corporations in poisoning us and the role capitalism plays in destabilizing human life in general, and instead blame scapegoats like life-saving vaccines, innocuous food stuffs like soy, feminism, LGBTQ people, and liberal elites (but never reactionary ones ofc). In addition, they try to think through what masculinity actually is, how it might express itself in healthy ways, what the left can offer young people in general, how reactionary notions of masculinity are rooted in profound fear and insecurity, and how misogynistic figures in the manosphere actually hamstring and poison the minds of young men trying to find a good partner and build a meaningful life. 

Matthew Furlong from our Dialectics Deep Dive series returns to the show to discuss Chairman Mao's text "On The Correct Handling of Contradictions Among the People".

Further Resources: 

  Mao Zedong - Five Essays on Philosophy (1957): https://foreignlanguages.press/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/S15-Five-Essays-on-Philosophy-6th-Printing.pdf     Ai Siqi - "Antagonistic and Non-Antagonistic Contradictions" (1957): https://massline.org/Philosophy/Dialectics/Antagonism-AiSiqi-1957.pdf     Jones Manoel - "Western Marxism Loves Purity and Martyrdom, But Not Real Revolution" (2020): https://www.blackagendareport.com/western-marxism-loves-purity-and-martyrdom-not-real-revolution     Radhika Desai & Michael Hudson: Geopolitical Economy Hour (2023 -) - https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDAi0NdlN8hMl9DkPLikDDGccibhYHnDP     World Association for Political Economy: https://wapeweb.org/   -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   Mi'kmaw learning resources for Atlantic Region dwellers Atlantic First Nations Tech Services - Mi'kmaw Learning: https://www.afnts.ca/mikmaw/dashboard Trudy Sable and Bernie Francis - The Language of this Land, Mi'kma'ki (2012): http://cbup.ca/books/sable-francis-language-mikmaki/ Pacifique Buisson - The Mi'kmaw Grammar of Father Pacifique, edited by Bernie Francis and John Hewson (1939/1990; 2016)   -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   Outro music: "Inner Conflict" by Pep Love  

Support Rev Left Radio: https://www.patreon.com/RevLeftRadio

Tai Lee joins Breht to discuss the recent split from AF3IRM, radical feminism, critique as a form of solidarity, the necessity of struggle within organizations, sexual harrassment and abuse in the labor movement, liberal opportunism, the targeting and intimidation of women who speak up, how to prevent abuse and harrassment within orgs, and more! Here is the letter that they discuss in the episode with a full breakdown of events: https://proletarianfeminist.medium.com/our-split-from-af3irm-shedding-light-on-our-issues-to-encourage-our-growth-towards-a-real-76cd1bcae395

Check out more of Tai's work: https://linktr.ee/chairmantailee

Check out more of Esperanza's work here: https://proletarianfeminist.medium.com/

Contact the Interim Revolutionary Feminist Committee: InterimRevFemCommittee@proton.me

Support Rev Left Radio: https://www.patreon.com/RevLeftRadio

In this unlocked patreon episode, Breht, Adnan, and Henry from Guerrilla History discuss their thoughts on the relationship between religion and Marxism, how Marxists today might think differently about religion compared to Marxists 100 years ago, religion and spirituality as a terrain of struggle for the Left, how to think about science vs. religion, the material basis of religion and what form the religious impulse might take under communism, demystification and meditation, and more. Get access to more bonus episodes like this one here: https://www.patreon.com/guerrillahistory

Professor of philosophy Matthew D. Segall returns to Rev Left to discuss his newest book, which is based on his disseratation, titled "Crossing the Threshold: Etheric Imagination in the Post-Kantian Process Philosophy of Schelling and Whitehead". Together, they discuss the philosophy of Immanuel Kant, Friedrich Schelling, and Alfred North Whitehead, and work through the vision of the cosmos - and of our place in it - that emerges from their work.   Check out Matt and his work here: https://footnotes2plato.com/   Check out our previous interviews with Matt here: https://revolutionaryleftradio.libsyn.com/size/5/?search=segall   Outro music: "Death Machine" by AJJ  

Support Rev Left Radio: https://www.patreon.com/RevLeftRadio

Support Rev Left Radio: https://www.patreon.com/RevLeftRadio

Filmmaker Steven De Castro joins Breht to discuss his on-the-ground documenary film on the New People's Army of the Phillipines for Means TV called Revolution Selfie; The Red Battalion. Together they discuss his film, his unique documentary style, his time embedded with the NPA, the Marcos Regime, Comrade Joma, the poverty and inequality in Manilla and throughout the Philippines that the NPA are fighting against, the role christianity plays in the guerrilla movement, LGBTQ fighters in the New People's Army, and much more!      Watch the Trailer for Revolution Selfie; The Red Battalion here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m__3prDPwH0&feature=youtu.be&ab_channel=StevenDeCastro     Check out the film here: https://means.tv/programs/revselfie     Learn more about Steven and his work here: http://credibilitymedia.com/     Check out our interview with Jose Marie Sison (aka Comrade Joma) here: https://guerrillahistory.libsyn.com/joma     Outro music: "Chairman Mao" by Bambu  

Support Rev Left Radio: https://www.patreon.com/RevLeftRadio

In this episode of Red Menace, Alyson and Breht summarize and discuss the first three chapters of Friedrich Engel's important work of historical materialism, "The Origin of the Family, Private Property, and the State". Together they discuss the core arguments of the text, the anthropological science behind it, why this text is considered a foundational text of Marxist Feminism, and much more!   00:15 Intro 4:28 Summary 51:58 Discussion   ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Support Rev Left: https://www.patreon.com/RevLeftRadio

PATREON TEASER: Breht responds to geopolitical analyst Peter Zeihan's Anti-China rantings and predictions. Note also that the major disagreements articulated in this episode will be decided objectively in time. Is Peter right that China is an incompetent, flailing, and doomed country bound for total collapse and probable balkanization, or is Breht correct that Peter's knowledge of China is severely limited, his predictions are wildly over-confident, and no such collapse of China is imminent or likely at all: one of them will be proven correct in the coming years... To get more content like this, and to listen to the full episode, join the Rev Left Radio Patreon here:

https://www.patreon.com/RevLeftRadio