The Dig

Latest Episodes:

Right Riot with Nikhil Pal Singh and Joe Lowndes Jan 12, 2021

Show notes

Nikhil Pal Singh and Joe Lowndes discuss and debate today’s American Right: what sort of threat does the Far-Right pose? How does it relate to the Republican Party and to the neoliberal imperial Center? What does that mean for the Left?

Read Corey Robin’s smart and short piece on impeachment jacobinmag.com/2021/01/corey-robin-what-impeachment-could-mean-trump

Listen to Dan’s interview with Joe Lowndes and Daniel Martinez HoSang & Joe Lowndes on their book Producers, Parasites, Patriots: Race and the New Right-Wing Politics of Precarity www.thedigradio.com/podcast/right-wing-racism-with-daniel-martinez-hosang-joe-lowndes/

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The Social Question with Gabriel Winant Jan 03, 2021

Show notes

Dan interviews historian and essayist Gabriel Winant on the social worlds that make US politics and how that sociality is rooted in the economy, carceral state, social media, religion, and more. Read these n+1 essays and Dissent interview for context:

We Live in a Society nplusonemag.com/online-only/online-only/we-live-in-a-society
Coronavirus and Chronopolitics nplusonemag.com/issue-37/politics/coronavirus-and-chronopolitics-2Professional-Managerial Chasm nplusonemag.com/online-only/online-only/professional-managerial-chasm
“What’s Actually Going on in Our Nursing Homes”: An Interview with Shantonia Jackson dissentmagazine.org/article/whats-actually-going-on-in-our-nursing-homes-an-interview-with-shantonia-jackson

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Family Values with Melinda Cooper Dec 27, 2020

Show notes

From The Dig archives: Dan interviews Melinda Cooper about her book, Family Values: Between Neoliberalism and the New Social Conservatism, which makes the case that neoliberalism and social conservatism have been consistent collaborators in creating an economy that redistributed wealth ruthlessly upwards with a risk-absorbing family at its privatized center. We’ll be back next week with a new episode.

Listen to Antibody thedigradio.com/antibody

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China and the US with Tobita Chow and Jake Werner Dec 19, 2020

Show notes

A big-picture interview with Tobita Chow and Jake Werner on China that puts today’s geopolitical conflict and repression into the context of global capitalism.

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How Left Parties Neoliberalized with Stephanie Mudge Dec 11, 2020

Show notes

What happened to social democratic politics? Dan interviews sociologist Stephanie Mudge on her book Leftism Reinvented: Western Parties from Socialism to Neoliberalism.

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Identity, Power, and Speech with Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò Dec 05, 2020

Show notes

Prevailing identity politics norms call on people “listen to the most affected” or “centre the most marginalized.” But this often works out quite badly in practice. Philosopher Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò on his brilliant essay “Being-in-the-Room Privilege: Elite Capture and Epistemic Deference.”

It’s The Dig’s four-year anniversary. Support us at Patreon.com/TheDig and take a moment to post something to social media about why you listen to The Dig and how it has shaped your politics.

Anti-Populism with Thomas Frank Nov 29, 2020

Show notes

Guest host Astra Taylor interviews Thomas Frank about his book The People, No: A Brief History of Anti-Populism.

From The Dig archives on populism:
Universalizing American Liberty with Aziz Rana
Populism’s Power with Laura Grattan and Thea Riofrancos
Worker Freedom with Alex Gourevitch

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The NAACP’s Anti-Lynching Struggle with Megan Ming Francis Nov 22, 2020

Show notes

Dan interviews political scientist Megan Ming Francis about the NAACP’s struggle against racist violence in the teens and 20s and how it remade the criminal justice system and the civil rights movement alike.

Join a Dig book club! Next book is Wendy Brown’s In the Ruins of Neoliberalism thedigradio.com/dig-book-club/

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Mike Davis on This Moment Nov 13, 2020

Show notes

Dan interviews Mike Davis on what the election reveals about this US political moment and the way forward for the Left.

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Join a Dig book club! Next book is Wendy Brown’s In the Ruins of Neoliberalism thedigradio.com/dig-book-club/

What Now with Cornel West Nov 07, 2020

Show notes

Dan interviews Cornel West on how to think about and act upon the world that this week presented to us.

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