This Wreckage

Latest Episodes:

Ep 121 - Automation & The Future Of Work w/ Aaron Benanav Dec 02, 2020

Show notes

Sean and Jamie speak with Aaron Benanav (@abenanav), currently a researcher at Humboldt University of Berlin, about his new book, "Automation and the Future of Work." While automation theorists predict that we are headed for a smooth transition to fully automated luxury communism (or is it partially automated poverty capitalism?) with a little help from our friend Andrew Yang, Benanav says not so fast. To provide an alternate explanation for the dropping demand for labor, he takes us through the book's key arguments, savors some Keynesian tears, pokes holes in the idea of a UBI, and sets us up nicely for part 2 (out Friday!) where we talk about how to get from our current hellworld to a society built around human needs.

Outro music: Limp Bizkit - I'm Broke

Talkin' Tina 4 - Brazil's Nuts w/ Amauri Gonzo Nov 27, 2020

Show notes

Our series about Latin America returns with an episode on Brazil with Amauri Gonzo of Brasil Wire, Ponte.org, and the Afita podcast. We cover a wide range of topics including riots against the murder of a black man last weekend on Black Consciousness Day, the regional elections, COVID vaccine drama, expectations of a Biden policy in Latin America, fires and military maneuvers in the Amazon, prospects for a post-Workers' Party Brazilian left, Gl*nn Gr**nwald, and Bolsonaro's anime avatar.

For the full episode an all bonus content, support the show at Patreon.com/TheAntifada

Spine Check 5 - Marx before Marxism: Value, Price and Profit Nov 25, 2020

Show notes

Andy and Sean are joined by Edwad @readcapital and Cordelia @cozyunoist, the confirmed superstars of #heinrichtwitter and co-hosts of the Reel Abstractions podcast to discuss Karl (Heinrich) Marx's 1865 address to the 1st International called 'Value, Price and Profit.'

As anti-Marxist communists steeped in Marxology, they help us confront this seemingly simple text for what it is - a fraction of Marx's total critique from a snapshot of time, and a Marx at his most Ricardian - which opens a conversation on: the difference between political economy and critical theory, the usefulness of Marx for communist theory, and the ambiguities that exist even in the mature theory we've inherited today.

This is a challenging episode (we stand in awe at the Reel Abstractions crew's grasp of the material) but well worth a listen.

song: Green Day - Nice Guys Finish Last

Ep 120 - Bob's Bürgerlichs Nov 18, 2020

Show notes

Jamie and Sean vibe on a number of topics, not limited to but including: feeling depressed, #DefundNYPD canvassing, and the latest bad discourse around "connecting with the working class." What's going to happen to millennials' politics when some of them inherit property? And a preview of a critique of democratic socialism.

Donate to the Atlanta Solidarity Fund at https://atlsolidarity.org

Closing song: Nina Simone - Backlash Blues

Spine Check 4 - Society of the Spectacle w/ Eric-John Russel (preview) Nov 13, 2020

Show notes

The second half of our conversation with Eric-John Russel of Cured Quail about Society of the Spectacle. We define the spectacle, cover the abolition of time, do some close readings of some of the aphorisms, and talk about practical applications of the text

For the full episode and access to all our bonus content, including History is a Weapon, Vampire Castle, and Proletkult, support us on Patreon at Patreon.com/TheAntifada

Ep 119 - Merci bad coup w/ Eric-John Russel Nov 11, 2020

Show notes

Scholar and madman Eric-John Russel joins us to discuss his journal the Cured Quail, the political origins of the Situationist International, and Guy Debord's Society of the Spectacle.

After that Sean and Andy discuss Trump's low-energy coup attempt, especially why so many anticipated it and why it doesn't seem to be working.

Support the Antifada by becoming a Patron for the full Spine Check episode on Society of the Spectacle, released Friday.

Get Cured Quail 1 and preorder Cured Quail 2 at https://curedquail.com/

Society of the Spectacle pdf: https://libcom.org/files/The%20Society%20of%20the%20Spectacle%20Annotated%20Edition.pdf

Eric-John Russel's forthcoming book on Debord and Hegel:

https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/spectacular-logic-in-hegel-and-debord-9781350157637/

Recent SI reader from Pluto Press: https://www.plutobooks.com/9780745338897/the-situationist-international/

Don Hammerquist's essay on right populism and international capital: https://threewayfight.blogspot.com/2018/10/new-stuff-from-old-guy-part-1.html

Matthew Lyons - Resisting Trump's Coup https://threewayfight.blogspot.com/2020/09/resisting-trumps-coup.html

Business leaders plan response if Trump disputes election results:

https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/06/business/business-groups-election-results/index.html

music:

Refused - Rather be Dead

Stone Roses - Bye Bye Badman

Angry Workers Part II: Essential Workers and Insurrection Nov 06, 2020

Show notes

In Part two of our discussion with the Angry Workers collective about their new book Class Power on Zero Hours, we talk about the new cycle of unrest spreading the world: riots against police brutality, racism, and renewed lockdowns in Europe. We close with a discussion of the tasks a workers' revolution will need to accomplish to succeed, and how we can get from here to there.

For the full episode support the show at Patreon.com/TheAntifada

Angry Workers' Insurrection and Production essay

Ep 118 - Angery Worker Reacts Only w/ Angry Workers Nov 04, 2020

Show notes

We interview two authors of the new book "Class Power on Zero Hours" describing the Angry Workers' collective efforts of organizing, agitating, and working in the industrial fringes of west London.

“We are publishing this book at a time when many on the left are licking their wounds, despondent at their missed opportunity to implement a socialist program through the Labour Party," they write in the intro, calling instead for more focus on daily worker activity for autonomy, and theorizing how solidarity between essential workers can point the way to revolution.

Part two of the episode, released Friday on Patreon, will discuss that program as well as anti-lockdown riots and BLM.

Read the full introduction: https://classpower.net/intro/

Buy Class Power on Zero Hours from PM Press: https://www.pmpress.org/index.php?l=product_detail&p=1164

Angry Workers’ essay on insurrection:

https://angryworkersworld.wordpress.com/2016/08/29/insurrection-and-production/

Correspondence with Insurgent Notes: http://insurgentnotes.com/2020/09/introduction-to-discussion-of-class-power-on-zero-hours/

Closing song: Sleaford Mods - Jobseeker

Proletkult 9 - The People's Beetlejuice w/ the Lit Crit Guy (PREVIEW) Oct 30, 2020

Show notes

Happy Mischief Night! Andy is joined by Jon the Lit Crit Guy to discuss Tim Burton's 1988 horror comedy BEETLEJUICE, well known for its titular imp and goth heroine, but far less for its themes of afterlife bureaucracy, rapacious capitalism, rural gentrification, and class conflict.

For the full episode and all other bonus material, support the show at https://www.patreon.com/theantifada

And to support Jon and his podcast, Horror Vanguard:

https://www.patreon.com/TheLitCritGuy

https://www.patreon.com/horrorvanguard

Read an accompanying essay about Beetlejuice, Rural Gentrification, and insurrection at: https://gittlitz.substack.com/

Ep 117 - Talking Horror: 'Host' & 'Society' w/ Hether Fortune & Leslie Lee III Oct 28, 2020

Show notes

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Jamie is joined by returning guests Leslie Lee III (@leslieleeiii), of Struggle Session and Vampire Castle, and Hether Fortune, formerly of Wax Idols and currently of Jamie's dreams, to talk about two very different horror movies: Zoom-based thriller (and first great film of the Covid era?) "Host" and 1992 cult classic "Society." Spoiler alert: there are no safe spaces, Zoom is even worse than you thought, and the rich are a race of slimy incest-monsters who just wanna get their shunt on. Happy sp00ky szn (㇏(•̀ᵥᵥ•́)ノ)

Outro music: Richard Band - Re-Animator Theme

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