sometimes I think back on life just a couple decades ago even and it's just...it's wild what they've done to us. the cost of housing, groceries, healthcare...we lost. big time

the human brain should come with a dimmer switch that lowers all higher functioning and lets you just chill in reptile mode for a bit

NEXT WEEK'S PATREON venezuela pt. 2: socialist communes and anti-imperialism w/ chris gilbert

socialism doesn't work, that's why we had to sanction venezuela's economy. but libertarian capitalism works just fine, that's why we had to bail out argentina 👍

NEW EP jo delamor joins us to discuss how to raise the next generation in a way that repels the toxic values underlying Western civilization and instead fosters those of a post capitalist path

a certain kind of cartoon villainy is returning to US politics

the recognition of a state that excludes its right to have a standing army while also actively funding the foreign army massacring its people is worse than worthless—it's a ruse intended to publicly absolve those responsible for genocide without any material change to business as usual

NEXT WEEK Post Capitalist Parenting Pt. 5: Raising Children in the Midst of Global Crisis w/ Jo delAmor

the 2nd cold war has already begun, and just like the original, it's being waged on many fronts and by many tactics. but china is not the soviet union, and capitalism has reached a terminal stage in the west where it is no longer equipped to win

NEW EP mikaela nhondo erskog joins us to discuss the terrific Tricontinental dossier on hyperimperialism and how burkina faso, mali, and niger are navigating this new decadent stage of monopoly capitalism in their fight for sovereignty

rosa luxemburg's famius line "socialism or barbarism" wasn't just a rally cry, it was a warning. and the defeat of communism last century by liberals and conservatives all but ensured that this country would be taken over by a fascist death cult. oh turns out they're pedophiles too, rosa

NEXT WEEK'S PATREON alliance of sahel states pt. 3: hyperimperialism and the fight for sovereignty w/ mikaela nhondo erskog

things will only continue to grow more ugly and violent here in the imperial core because neither major political party has an interest in addressing underlying conditions as it would require significant and immediate losses for the class they represent

during the colonialism, 1 in every 3 light bulbs in France was being lit by the energy generated by uranium extracted from niger—which received just 13% of the value of its exports. now, france is now one of the wealthiest countries in the world and niger is one of the poorest. must be a coincidence

we were besieged by technical problems and internet failures but after 5 hrs of hard work we persevered. I can announce that next week's patreon ep is officially recorded and it's a banger

we were besieged by technical problems and internet failures but after 5 hrs of hard work we persevered. I can announce that next week's patreon ep is officially recorded and it's a banger

it's extremely consistent and not at all hypocritical if you understand the goal of this administration to be white supremacy and not some idealistic adherence to a legal system

NEW EP robina khalid joins us for a wide ranging conversation on birthing, midwifery, and the fascinating history of the field of obstetrics and its white supremacist, colonialist, capitalist roots

the thing that's crucial to understand about capitalism is that the tendency towards monopoly isn't some aberration but rather an inescapable inevitability baked into the system itself. we've known this for over a century and pretending otherwise is nothing but cope

imagine if guys like vance had this kind of tough guy energy for greedy pharmaceutical companies like pudue pharma or for health insurance companies denying our claims. but instead they have it for 11 venezuelan guys who may or may not have had some drugs on a boat

I honestly think if americans knew how good most people have it in china or europe they would revolt. that's why it's so crucial for our ruling class to keep that information from us

richard tillman drove a car full of flammable logs into the post office around where I grew up. he's the brother of the NFL star pat tillman who was shot three times in the head from 10 yards away by "friendly fire" after expressing anti-war views in Afghanistan. the military tried to cover it up

life is absolutely becoming less safe in the US. but not because of immigrants or crime or trans people. it's because we can't afford groceries or housing. because masked agents are kidnapping people. because our political leaders are funding a genocide. because there is no hope for the future

NEXT WEEK post capitalist parenting pt. 4: midwifery and birthing w/ robina khalid

NEW PATREON EP @vijayprashad.bsky.social joins us to discuss the US's most recent escalation of hostilities towards Venezuela in the context of decades of imperialist exploitation and the Bolivarian revolution led by Chávez and now Máduro which is fighting against it

a good rule to follow re: US propaganda is to believe exactly the opposite of what the state department claims. maduro is a dictator? ok, he must be a wildly popular fairly elected populist. he's a drug smuggler? ok, he must be fighting against the cartels. venezuela is bad? ok venezuela is great

the shepherding of the rage, passion, and drive of young progressives into the void of the democratic party where it was diverted back into the system and neutralized should go down as one of the biggest crimes of the century

a new, terrifying era has dawned where covid has proven to be a mass disabling event and we barely understand what's going on aside from the fact that this virus lives inside us for months to years damaging our immune systems and our cells and what do we do in response? blow up the CDC

it's not just that the democratic party is feckless or useless—it's that they are primarily responsible for facilitating the normalization of right wing politics and now outright fascism

there are a lot of factors at play when trying to analyze the US right's politics but we would be remiss to omit the simple fact that a malevolent desire to hurt others is a significant factor

capitalism is a force that works through people—like a parasite, it infects the most spiritually weak as hosts and takes over their internal being, transforming them into nothing but a medium for capital accumulation

NEXT WEEK'S PATREON venezuela pt. 1: a socialist introduction w/ @vijayprashad.bsky.social

starting to get a little tired of people trying to hold the democratic party to some standard of conduct that suggests they're anything other than a consciously and deliberately right wing party. they're not going to change, and if they do it'll only be further to the right. move on

NEW EP chris smalls & huwaida arraf join us for a conversation about the gaza freedom flotilla and its history, the US labor movement's complicity in genocide, the failure of liberal institutions, and much more

"In my 37 years in America I've never experienced the amount of hatred, racism, and bigotry that I experienced in Israel in those few days. It was such a hatred that it just resonated from them. And it was deliberate racism." - Chris Smalls

this country makes a lot more sense when you realize the ultimate goal for the democratic party is to stop the left from gaining power and ultimate goal for the republican party is to bring back slavery

this country makes a lot more sense when you realize the ultimate goal for the democratic party is to stop the left from gaining power and ultimate goal for the republican party is to bring back slavery

"In my 37 years in America I've never experienced the amount of hatred, racism, and bigotry that I experienced in Israel in those few days. It was such a hatred that it just resonated from them. And it was deliberate racism." - Chris Smalls

NEXT WEEK palestine pt. 15: the gaza freedom flotilla w/ chris smalls & huwaida araff

NEW EP creighton ward, kevin li, and alessandro zancan joined us for a wide ranging and fascinating discussion about China's Zero COVID policy and how it was China's socialist foundation which made this remarkable achievement possible

most of the effects of living through this cannibalistic copper-stripping period of US decline are going to be experienced individually but know that it's not just you: everyone is suffering immensely

5,272 people died of COVID in china. compare that to the 1,225,927 deaths in the US and the 232,112 deaths in the UK and you'll realize that China's zero COVID strategy was one of the most remarkable achievements of the 21st century. thank you, socialism

during the early pandemic we had a fleeting and muted glimpse of what public services could be like (extended unemployment, expanded medicaid, child tax credits, WFH)—it's why it's been so difficult to take anything seriously since then. we all know the scarcity is manufactured

NEXT WEEK'S PATREON china pt. 7: a socialist response to the COVID pandemic w/ creighton ward, alessandro zancan, and Kevin Li

just so we're clear: anti-zionism is a *political* position that refutes Israel's right to impose an apartheid ethnostate upon a religious & ethnic population that is indigenous to the land Israel wants. anti-semitism is an *ideological* prejudice against jewish people. two entirely separate things

hi! popping in to let you know that we'll be back to our regular schedule next week. we have many exciting episodes planned including an ep on Thomas Sankara, an ep on the AES & hyperimperialism, an ep in our Post Capitalist Parenting series, and an ep w/ Chris Smalls & the gaza freedom flotilla!

it's not just that capitalists rely on free reproductive labor in order to accumulate capital—the entire process of creating the next generation of workers is itself a form of profit for the capitalist. giving birth? that'll be $20k. childcare? another $20k/year. why? because you're just a machine

"The final stages of capitalism, Karl Marx predicted, would be marked by global capital being unable to expand and generate profits at former levels. Capitalists would begin to consume the government along with the physical and social structures that sustained them...

I've thrown my back out twice in a week speed moving out of our moldy house w/ nowhere to go but hotels. my partner has been extremely sick from mold exposure & long COVID and she just had her longterm disability denied and she also got laid off yesterday. but enough about me, how's your week going?