Rev Left Radio

Latest Episodes:

[BEST OF] Free Palestine: The National Liberation Struggle against Zionism, Colonialism, and Apartheid Apr 19, 2025

Show notes

ORIGINALLY RELEASED Oct 21, 2023

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.

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[BEST OF] Malcolm X: By Any Means Necessary Apr 18, 2025

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ORIGINALLY RELEASED Aug 1, 2019

Chuka Ejeckam joins Breht to discuss the one and only Malcolm X. In this episode, we honor the life, legacy, and radical clarity of Malcolm X, one of the most fearless and honorable figures in the struggle for Black liberation. From his early years shaped by systemic racism and incarceration, to his rise as a powerful voice within the Nation of Islam, and finally to his global awakening and revolutionary vision in the last years of his life—we trace the evolution of a profoundly courageous man who refused to be silenced. We dive into his speeches, his politics, his personal life, and the enduring impact of his message: one of dignity, self-determination, and uncompromising truth. Find Chuka and his work here: http://www.chukaejeckam.com/

If you liked this episode, check out our other episode on Fred Hampton featuring Chuka here: http://revolutionaryleftradio.libsyn.com/fred-hampton

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[BEST OF] Joy James on Du Bois, Liberation Struggles, & Revolutionary Love Apr 17, 2025

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ORIGINALLY RELEASED Jan 8, 2024

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

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[BEST OF] The Haitian Revolution Apr 16, 2025

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ORIGINALLY RELEASED Jun 21, 2020

In this episode, we explore the Haitian Revolution—the only successful slave revolt in history and a landmark event in the global struggle against colonialism and white supremacy. From the brutal plantation economy of Saint-Domingue to the rise of revolutionary leaders like Toussaint Louverture and Jean-Jacques Dessalines, we trace how enslaved Africans overthrew French rule and declared the world's first Black republic. We also examine how this radical uprising shook the foundations of empire, inspired abolitionist movements, and remains a crucial—yet often erased—chapter in revolutionary history.

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.

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[BEST OF] Louis Althusser: Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses Apr 15, 2025

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ORIGINALLY RELEASED Jan 23, 2020

On this episode, Melody (aka A World to Win!) joins Breht to introduce and discuss the work of Marxist philosopher Louis Althusser, specifically his work on ideology.

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[BEST OF] Dialectics & Liberation: Insights from Buddhism and Marxism Apr 14, 2025

Show notes

ORIGINALLY RELEASED Feb 16, 2023

Breht gives a moving speech on the topic of dialectial materialism, Buddhism, and Marxism. After explaining the philosophy of dialectical materialism in depth, he uses it to unite core insights from Buddhism and Marxism, arguing that their combination offers a potent path toward inward and outward liberation. He ends by advancing the archetype of the Bodhisattva Revolutionary, asserting it as a uniquely well-rounded and profoundly deep path for revolutionaries interested in radical transformation. Huge shout out to the ASU Zen Devils and MECHA for inviting Breht out to Arizona to give this speech, meet listeners, and visit the Sonoran Desert for the first time! Learn more about MECHA here: https://linktr.ee/MECHAdeASU

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[BEST OF] The Vietnam War Apr 13, 2025

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ORIGINALLY RELEASED Nov 2018

Historian David Parsons joins Breht for a deep and wide-ranging conversation on the Vietnam War, Ho Chi Minh and the Vietnamese National Liberation struggle, unforgivable American imperial war crimes, historical memory, and much more! David Parsons is an author, historian, and leftist podcast host of The Nostalgia Trap. Find The Nostalgia Trap here: https://nostalgiatrap.com/

Find his book, Dangerous Grounds: Antiwar Coffeehouses and Military Dissent in the Vietnam Era here: https://www.uncpress.org/book/9781469632018/dangerous-grounds/ The Documentary used for most of the clips in the show is "Hearts and Minds" (1974)

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[BEST OF] The Spanish Civil War Apr 12, 2025

Show notes

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.

Here is the reading guide from WCH on the Spanish Civil War: https://libcom.org/library/spanish-civil-war-1936-39-reading-guide Working Class History website is here: https://workingclasshistory.com

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[BEST OF] Ghosts in the Machines: Artificial Intelligence, Consciousness, & Capitalism Apr 11, 2025

Show notes

ORIGINALLY RELEASED Apr 10, 2024

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!

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[BEST OF] What Is To Be Done? - V.I. Lenin Apr 10, 2025

Show notes

ORIGINALLY RELEASED Apr 20, 2019

What is to be Done? is a classic work on the role and organisation of the revolutionary party in the communist movement. Lenin criticises economism, revisionism and spontaneity, and argues persuasively for a centralised and professional vanguard of the proletariat.

On this episode of Red Menace Alyson and Breht explain and reflect on the text, and then extract the core lessons for revolutionaries today.

What Is To Be Done? by V.I. Lenin

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

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