Jacobin Radio

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Long Reads: Trillion Dollar Baby w/ Quinn Slobodian and Ben Tarnoff (Part 2) Jul 02, 2026

Show notes

In September 2025, Elon Musk spoke by video link to a fascist rally in London. Tommy Robinson, the organizer of the rally and a convicted criminal, has been trying to incite a racial war on the streets of Britain. That record of incitement won him the admiration of Musk. Since delivering the speech, Musk has become the world’s first trillionaire, boosting his war chest even further.

Today’s episode is the second part of an interview with Quinn Slobodian and Ben Tarnoff, the authors of Muskism: A Guide for the Perplexed. The interview was conducted shortly before the SpaceX IPO that gave Musk his trillion-dollar valuation.

The first part of the interview concentrates on the growth of Musk’s business empire with companies like SpaceX and Tesla. This episode focuses on his political turn over the last decade.

Read Jacobin’s reviews of Muskism here: https://jacobin.com/2026/03/muskism-futurism-fordism-sovereignty-technology

And here: https://jacobin.com/2026/03/musk-slobodian-tarnoff-neoliberalism-right

Long Reads is a Jacobin podcast looking in-depth at political topics and thinkers, both contemporary and historical, with the magazine’s writers. Hosted by features editor Daniel Finn. Produced by Conor Gillies with music by Knxwledge.

The Dig: Nusantara Ep. 6 — Mass Killing, New Order Jul 01, 2026

Show notes

The sixth episode in a series on the history of Indonesia: a hinge in the world system where colonialism and revolution have decisively shaped the trajectory of global history. This installment details Suharto’s right-wing military coup and the horrific political crime that accompanied it: the US-backed mass murder of Indonesian communists. The military’s mass slaughter inaugurated Suharto’s oligarchic, authoritarian, and corrupt New Order regime — a regime that would endure for three decades and continues to shape Indonesia to this day. Featuring Rianne Subijanto, Made Supriatma, and Farabi Fakih.

Support The Dig at Patreon.com/TheDig

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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: The US-Iran Talks w/ Mouin Rabbani and Anatol Lieven Jun 30, 2026

Show notes

Two views from Behind the News regulars on the US-Iran negotiations: Anatol Lieven and Mouin Rabbani.

Behind the News, hosted by Doug Henwood, covers the worlds of economics and politics and their complex interactions, from the local to the global.

Jacobin Radio: Football Fandom w/ Ryan McKnight Jun 25, 2026

Show notes

On this edition of Jacobin Radio with Suzi Weissman, guest co-hosts Alan Minsky and Mel Figueroa present another installment of The People's Game, a quadrennial series that looks at the economic and political subtexts of the world’s most popular sport. They are joined by Ryan McKnight, a doctoral researcher at Manchester Met University in the UK who is researching the impact of neoliberalism on what he calls “the opportunity of football fandom.” According to Ryan, football fandom is one of the last remaining forms of large-scale collectivism in the UK, offering a unique window into the nature of society. Next, Alan Minsky speaks to former Congressman Jamaal Bowman to get his thoughts on the World Cup, the victory of his hometown Knicks, and how both are being experienced in Mayor Mamdani’s NYC.

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

Confronting Capitalism: The Politics of Mass Deportation Jun 24, 2026

Show notes

Donald Trump has made the issue of immigration a key battleground in US politics. But with public opinion swinging against the brutal ICE raids and deportations over the past year, how should the Left respond?

On the latest episode of Confronting Capitalism, Vivek Chibber and Melissa Naschek are joined by Catalyst board member Suzy Lee. Suzy has written extensively on the political economy and politics of American immigration and migration more broadly. Together, they look at how Trump capitalized on the post-COVID surge in immigration and offer an alternative vision around immigrant rights and border politics.

Read Suzy Lee’s recent essay here: https://catalyst-journal.com/2026/04/the-logic-of-mass-deportation

The latest issue of Catalyst is out, and you can subscribe for just $20 using the code CONFRONTINGCAPITALISM: https://catalyst-journal.com/subscribe/?code=CONFRONTINGCAPITALISM

Have a question for us? Write to us by email: confronting.capitalism@jacobin.com

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: How Cops Rose Above the Law w/ Stuart Schrader Jun 22, 2026

Show notes

Stuart Schrader, author of Blue Power, explains how the political heft of cops allows them to get away with murder. Angela Jones, author of Sex in Public, looks at the social and political factors shaping our sexual lives.

Behind the News, hosted by Doug Henwood, covers the worlds of economics and politics and their complex interactions, from the local to the global.

Long Reads: Trillion Dollar Baby w/ Quinn Slobodian and Ben Tarnoff (Part 1) Jun 18, 2026

Show notes

Elon Musk became the world’s first trillionaire last week after the record-breaking IPO of his company SpaceX. Musk presents the firm’s economic take off as the necessary means to a wider end for humanity, to become a multi-planetary species.

“That’s what SpaceX is all about,” Musk recently said at the company’s headquarters. “To take the fiction out of science fiction.”

While Musk was looking to the stars, the people of Belfast were still reeling from several days of racist violence. The Belfast pogrom drew strength from the far-right ecosystem that Musk has nurtured with the money from SpaceX, Tesla, and other companies. Musk himself repeatedly called for anti-immigrant protests and boosted the messaging of Britain’s neofascist right. His social-media platform generated the atmosphere of a frenzied lynch mob.

Over two episodes, Long Reads will explore the two sides of Elon Musk and his impact on the world. Our guests are Quinn Slobodian and Ben Tarnoff, authors of Muskism: A Guide for the Perplexed. This interview was conducted a few days before the SpaceX IPO.

Read Jacobin’s reviews of Muskism here: https://jacobin.com/2026/03/muskism-futurism-fordism-sovereignty-technology

And here: https://jacobin.com/2026/03/musk-slobodian-tarnoff-neoliberalism-right

Jacobin Radio: The People’s World Cup Jun 17, 2026

Show notes

The show’s co-producers Alan Minsky and Meleiza Figueroa fill in for Suzi with a special installment of their quadrennial podcast series, The People’s Game⁠, which covers the world's most popular spectacle from a socialist internationalist perspective.

Alan and Mel talk with their fellow People’s Game co-host Fernando Romero about, well, “everything” going on in the world. How surreal it feels to be passionate fans of the beloved global game when the political circumstances inside the World Cup’s primary host country are so fraught and dire for so many people inside and outside US borders.

Fernando Romero is beaming! We spoke with him on the eve of his journey to Mexico. First stop is Mexico City for the opening game, then onto Guadalajara and Monyterrey, all three World Cup cities in Mexico.

We then speak with Thomas Hanna from the Democracy Collaborative, a longtime fan and player, about the problems — and potential — for the people’s game as a vehicle for democracy rather than capitalism. As a fútbol fan, Thomas mirrors his work with the Democracy Collaborative, which advocates for worker ownership of businesses and industry, and assists worker-led efforts to own and control their workplaces. Thomas helps organize a growing global movement for fans to own their favorite clubs.

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: Why the Right Hates Theory w/ Moira Weigel Jun 16, 2026

Show notes

J.W. Mason and Arjun Jayadev, authors of the new book Against Money, explain that curious stuff and enumerate its problems. Moira Weigel, author of a recent article for the journal October, takes a look at why the right hates theory.

Behind the News, hosted by Doug Henwood, covers the worlds of economics and politics and their complex interactions, from the local to the global.

The Dig: Nusantara Ep. 5 — Armed Conflicts, Guided Democracy Jun 15, 2026

Show notes

The fifth episode in a series on the history of Indonesia: a hinge in the world system where colonialism and revolution have decisively shaped the trajectory of global history. This installment traces the armed conflicts—civil wars and then confrontations with the Dutch and British — that propelled Indonesia into Sukarno’s authoritarian Guided Democracy system and cascading economic crisis. Both the military and the Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI) became increasingly powerful forces on the eve of 1965–when the armed forces would slaughter the communists and inaugurate Suharto’s New Order. Featuring Rianne Subijanto, Made Supriatma, and Farabi Fakih.

Support The Dig at Patreon.com/TheDig

Get 50% off Backlash: The Global Rise of the Radical Right , or any first book purchase from plutobooks.com with code ‘DIG50’

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

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