Rev Left Radio

Latest Episodes:

Jesus Christ: Historical Materialism, Class Conflict, and the Jesus Movement May 22, 2023

Show notes

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/

Outro music: "All My Tears" by Ane Brun

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

Everyday Utopia: Egalitarianism, Human Nature, & The Good Life May 17, 2023

Show notes

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

Outro music: "Kill in a Heartbeat" by Danger, Moth

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

Islam and Anarchism with Mohamed Abdou May 12, 2023

Show notes

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

Islam and Marxism: A Brief Introduction May 08, 2023

Show notes

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

Teaser: The Electoral Doom Loop May 03, 2023

Show notes

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

Right Wing Moral Panic: "The Crisis of Masculinity" May 01, 2023

Show notes

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.

On The Correct Handling of Contradictions Among the People Apr 26, 2023

Show notes

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

Proletarian Feminism and its Discontents Apr 20, 2023

Show notes

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

Whole World in an Uproar: Music, Rebellion and Repression (1955-1972) Apr 17, 2023

Show notes

Aaron J. Leonard returns to the show to discuss his newest book, "Whole World in an Uproar: Music, Rebellion and Repression". Throughout the interview, we play many of the artists and songs mentioned in the book and conversation (time stamps below). Together, Aaron and Breht discuss the history, social upheavals, cultural shifts, and the political context in which the music from this era emerged and the reaction it created from the mainstream culture. Topics include: the beatniks, the cultural context of the 50's in America, the civil rights movement, the 1960's, the Kent State Massacre, the introduction of psychedlic drugs, the Vietnam War, the Cuban Revolution, the shift from the old left to the new left, and much more! Music included: 10:30 - People Are Strange by The Doors 28:05 - Ohio by Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young 48:40 - Mississippi Goddamn by Nina Simone 59:00 - Santo Domingo by Phil Ochs 74:50 - White Rabbit by Jefferson Airplane 87:00 - Luang Prabang by Dave Von Ronk Outro music: "For What it's Worth" by Buffalo Springfield

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

Religion and Marxism: Thinking Through the Human Condition Apr 13, 2023

Show notes

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

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