Jacobin Radio

Latest Episodes:

The Dig: Settler Empire w/ Aziz Rana Apr 12, 2025

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Featuring Aziz Rana on the making of the American capitalist, imperialist project and its legitimation through popular worship of the US Constitution. This episode, the first in a three-part series, traces the foundation of the American settler empire from the revolutionary generation up to the eve of World War I.

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The Dig goes deep into politics everywhere, from labor struggles and political economy to imperialism and immigration. Hosted by Daniel Denvir.

Confronting Capitalism: The End of NATO? Apr 09, 2025

Show notes

President Trump has threatened to upend the US’s role in NATO unless the Europeans increase their military spending. But far from just a budget reshuffling, European remilitarization massively increases the prospects for war and austerity.

On this episode of Confronting Capitalism, Vivek Chibber and Melissa Naschek explain the Cold War origins of NATO, how the US organizes European geopolitics, and why Russia and China have been deemed national security threats.

Confronting Capitalism with Vivek Chibber is produced by Catalyst: A Journal of Theory and Strategy, and published by Jacobin. Music by Zonkey.

Behind the News: Contradictions of the Trump Tariffs w/ Sam Gindin Apr 08, 2025

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Jason Wade of the UAW explains the union’s endorsement of Trump’s auto tariffs. Sam Gindin, former long-time adviser to what used to be known as the Canadian Autoworkers Union and the author of a recent article for nonsite.org, takes a look at the issues obscured by the tariff controversy.

Behind the News, hosted by Doug Henwood, covers the worlds of economics and politics and their complex interactions, from the local to the global. Find the archive online: https://www.leftbusinessobserver.com/radio.html

Red Star Over Palestine: The Communist Movement Apr 05, 2025

Show notes

For many years, Palestine had one of the strongest left-wing movements in the Arab world, represented by prominent figures such as Emile Habibi, Leila Khaled, and Ghassan Kanafani. At the beginning of the First Intifada in the 1980s, Palestinian left groups were still the main challengers to the hegemony of Fatah, although the Left has lost much of its influence in the period since then.

Red Star Over Palestine: Histories of the Palestinian Left is a six-part series from Long Reads exploring radical movements and progressive organizations of the region. We’ll be looking at the experience of Palestinian communism and the left-wing currents inside the PLO, the Palestine Liberation Organization. We’ll also be looking at the outsized impact of the Left on Palestinian cultural life.

This first episode focuses on the communist movement in Palestine from its early years until the 1960s.

Red Star Over Palestine is hosted by Daniel Finn and produced by Conor Gillies. Music provided by Fadi Tabbal.

The Dig: Blue Collar Empire w/ Jeff Schuhrke Apr 04, 2025

Show notes

Jeff Schuhrke on his book Blue Collar Empire: The Untold Story of US Labor’s Global Anticommunist Crusade. During the Cold War, organized labor’s top leadership acted as an agent of the US national security state abroad: undermining left-wing unions, fomenting right-wing coups, and promoting the US-led capitalist order. At home, those same forces destroyed left-wing unions and organizers. That history goes a long way in explaining the weakened, conservative, and ineffectual workers’ movement we still confront today.

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The Dig goes deep into politics everywhere, from labor struggles and political economy to imperialism and immigration. Hosted by Daniel Denvir.

Jacobin Radio: Letters From Russia’s Opposition w/ Joy Neumeyer Apr 02, 2025

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Journalist and historian Joy Neumeyer joins Suzi from Warsaw to discuss her March 13 piece in the New York Review of Books, “Russia: Letters from the Opposition.” Last summer, Neumeyer wrote to 14 of Vladimir Putin’s political prisoners — dissidents locked away in penal colonies for opposing Russia’s war on Ukraine. While human rights organizations estimate that some 20,000 anti-war critics have been detained, a smaller number face trial and sentencing, disappearing into Russia’s vast prison system. Neumeyer was struck by the deeply personal, often unexpected responses she received — offering a rare glimpse into the lives, fears, and resilience of those behind bars.

While figures like Boris Kagarlitsky, Russia’s most well-known left-wing critic, have drawn international attention — including on this podcast — many political prisoners remain unknown, their suffering largely overlooked both inside and outside Russia. Neumeyer shares the powerful insights from her correspondence, revealing not just the punishments these prisoners endure, but also their defiance, hope, and unwavering resistance.

We explore Putin’s escalating repression, the deeply human stories of imprisoned dissidents, and the culture of war and propaganda that fuels the political climate in Russia. And we ask a critical question: what happens to these prisoners if — and when — the war ends?

Jacobin Radio with Suzi Weissman features conversations with leading thinkers and activists, with a focus on labor, the economy, and protest movements.

Behind the News: Trump and the Courts w/ Samuel Moyn Mar 29, 2025

Show notes

Samuel Moyn talks about Trump and the courts. Chris Maisano, author of a recent Jacobin article about class “dealignment,” discusses class and politics. Finally, Evgenia Kovda reflects on hipster nihilism, which she wrote about for the Nefarious Russians newsletter.

Confronting Capitalism: Can the Republican Party Survive Trump? Mar 26, 2025

Show notes

The Republican Party has become a hegemonic force in US politics today. But how much of their dominance is predicated on Donald Trump’s personal rule?

On this episode of Confronting Capitalism, Vivek Chibber discusses the historic evolution of the Republicans with Paul Heideman, author of “Trump’s Takeover of the Republican Party,” an essay in the upcoming issue of Catalyst. Vivek and Paul focus on the business coalitions behind Trump, how he was able to muster elite support, and how the level of that support is a lot lower than it seems.

Read the article here: https://catalyst-journal.com/2025/04/trumps-takeover-of-the-republicans

Confronting Capitalism with Vivek Chibber is produced by Catalyst: A Journal of Theory and Strategy, and published by Jacobin. Music by Zonkey.

The Dig: New World Order w/ Ilias Alami and Tim Sahay Mar 25, 2025

Show notes

Featuring more analysis from Ilias Alami and Tim Sahay on the shape of global geopolitics and geoeconomics. We discuss: the fault lines of the green energy transition; the US and China battle for dominance while the rest of the world seeks advantage and opportunities for leverage; the US and Russia’s full-throttle commitment to fossil capitalism; the IMF’s ongoing imposition of neoliberal austerity on the world’s poorest countries, which, in opposition to these plans, want to remake the entire world capitalist system. Plus: Why the economic weapon failed against China and Russia, and a lot more.

The second in a two-part series.

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Transnational Institute reports: The New Frontline: The US-China Battle for Control of Global Networks tni.org/en/article/the-new-frontline Geopolitics of Capitalism: State of Power 2025 tni.org/en/publication/geopolitics-of-capitalism

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The Dig goes deep into politics everywhere, from labor struggles and political economy to imperialism and immigration. Hosted by Daniel Denvir.

Behind the News: Professional-Class Liberals w/ Lily Geismer & Brent Cebul Mar 25, 2025

Show notes

Brent Cebul and Lily Geismer, editors of the new collection Mastery and Drift, discuss professional-class liberalism. Plus: a brief reprise of a 2019 interview with Gabriel Winant about the PMC.

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