Episode 126: “Permanent, Intolerable Uncertainty” ft. the Left Page

This week, I hung out with my pal Frank from the Left Page podcast and talked about Ursula K. Le Guin’s novel, The Left Hand of Darkness. In the ensuing dialogue, Frank and I discussed the book’s ambisexuality, queer critiques of the text and Le Guin’s response, the nature of being and the impermanence of knowledge, how different knowledge bases are gendered and how we dismantle and reinterrogate the chauvinistic approach to science and reclaim a more emancipatory framework for the scientific method. We also talk about spirituality? I dunno, it was a lot and we bounced around quite a bit, but I had a blast and I hope you’ll enjoy this episode, too. The Left Hand of Darkness is available online! Follow Frank on Twitter. Check out the Left Page podcast on Twitter, visit their website, and support them on Patreon.  Check out our episodes of The Dispossessed with the Left Page podcast, Ep. 47 and Ep. 48! Macabre Media podcast has a new episode! Check it out wherever you get your podcasts.  Support Coffee with Comrades on Patreon, follow us on Twitter and Instagram, and visit our website. Coffee with Comrades is a proud member of the Channel Zero Network. Coffee with Comrades is proud to be part of the Rev Left Radio Federation. Coffee with Comrades is an affiliate of the Firestorm Books & Café. Check out our reading recommendations!  Our logo was designed by Sydney Landis. Support her work, buy some art.

Episode 125: “An Abolitionist for City Council” ft. Steven J. Frich

Today, I’m sharing an interview I did with my homie, Steven, who’s running for city council in Minneapolis. Steven and I chat about the George Floyd uprising, the abolitionist struggle in the city, Steven’s platform and politics, and I also ask him some tough questions from the left about political struggle and the limitations of the ballot box.  Follow Steven on Twitter, visit his website, and volunteer to support his campaign! Support Coffee with Comrades on Patreon, follow us on Twitter and Instagram, and visit our website. Coffee with Comrades is a proud member of the Channel Zero Network. Coffee with Comrades is proud to be part of the Rev Left Radio Federation. Coffee with Comrades is an affiliate of the Firestorm Books & Café. Check out our reading recommendations!  Our logo was designed by Sydney Landis. Support her work, buy some art. Music:  Intro: “I Ain’t Got No Home in this World” by Woody Guthrie Interlude: “Erase the Rat” by Backtrack  Outro: “Call My Name” by Harms Way 

Episode 124: “Reflections on the Quarantine”

This week marks the one year anniversary of the so-called U.S. being placed under lockdown in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. One year ago, I was in New York city visiting childhood friends and the comrades in Dumb & Awful. I was literally in the middle of making plans to chill with Amy and Liz from Rebel Steps when the coronavirus was officially declared a national emergency. In the time that’s passed, our society has become more isolated and alienated than ever before. Worldwide, millions have died. To this day, the U.S. has continued to absolutely bungle this debacle. To mark this historic year, I wanted to do a retrospective, reflective episode on how COVID-19 has impacted human society and how human beings have become atomized, but also how we’ve banded together, rose up against white supremacy in this country, and instituted sweeping projects of tenant-organizing and mutual aid when the state left us out to dry. Joining me today is Jules Taylor, a musician, producer, and podcaster living in upstate, NY.  Jules and I spend the episode chatting about the emergence of new conspiracies, the way capitalism exacerbated this crisis (fueling and profiting off our ongoing immiseration,) and—most importantly—the ways we’ve fought back. But it’s also a heavy episode, where we leave some space to mourn and grieve and contemplate mortality. Things mentioned by Jules during our conversation:  The Slow Cancelling of the Future – Mark Fisher Capitalist Realism by Mark Fisher Cover of the New Yorker Magazine 12.7.20 Women With Cancer Awarded Billions in Baby Powder Suit The fiasco of the 1976 ‘swine flu affair’ The Spanish Flu actually came from Kansas Notes: Check out Jules’ podcast, No Easy Answers, and his website: JulesTaylorMusic.com. You can find all his various projects here: https://bit.ly/julestaylorbio You can follow him on social media: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram And you can stream his music here: https://bit.ly/julestaylormusicsongwhip Also, you can challenge Jules to a game of chess here: LiChess | com Support Coffee with Comrades on Patreon, follow us on Twitter and Instagram, and visit our website. Coffee with Comrades is a proud member of the Channel Zero Network. Coffee with Comrades is proud to be part of the Rev Left Radio Federation. Coffee with Comrades is an affiliate of the Firestorm Books & Café. Check out our reading recommendations!  Our logo was designed by Sydney Landis. Support her work, buy some art. Music: Intro: “I Ain’t Got No Home in this World” by Woody Guthrie Interlude: “Anthem for No State, Pt. 1” by Godspeed You! Black Emperor Outro: “Paralyzed” by LANDMVRKS

Episode 123: “No Human Being is Illegal” ft. Harsha Walia

I recently sat down with Harsha Walia, author of the new book Border & Rule: Global Migration, Capitalism, and the Rise of Racist Nationalism, to discuss the displacement crisis, the struggle for migrant justice, the resurgence of far-right ethnonationalism across the planet, and the internationalist framework necessary to confront the specific sort of violence conjured by borders.  Follow Harsha on Twitter and pick up a copy of her book, Border & Rule! Support Coffee with Comrades on Patreon, follow us on Twitter and Instagram, and visit our website. Coffee with Comrades is a proud member of the Channel Zero Network. Coffee with Comrades is proud to be part of the Rev Left Radio Federation. Coffee with Comrades is an affiliate of the Firestorm Books & Café. Check out our reading recommendations!  Our logo was designed by Sydney Landis. Support her work, buy some art. Music:  Intro: “I Ain’t Got No Home in this World” by Woody Guthrie Interlude: “An Ordinary Extinction” by Architects  Outro: “System/Meltdown” by Enter Shikari 

Episode 122: “Under No Pretext” ft. the SNE SRA

I sat down with the comrades in the South New England Socialist Rifle Association to discuss their efforts to create the first explicitly leftist gun range. Stick around ’til the very end for possibly the goofiest blooper reel in Coffee with Comrades history.  Support the SNE SRA’s fund-raising efforts! Follow the SNE SRA on Twitter and Instagram.  Check out It’s Going Down’s coverage of the SNE SRA, as well.  Support Coffee with Comrades on Patreon, follow us on Twitter and Instagram, and visit our website. Coffee with Comrades is a proud member of the Channel Zero Network. Coffee with Comrades is proud to be part of the Rev Left Radio Federation. Coffee with Comrades is an affiliate of the Firestorm Books & Café. Check out our reading recommendations!  Our logo was designed by Sydney Landis. Support her work, buy some art. Music:  Intro: “I Ain’t Got No Home in this World” by Woody Guthrie  Interlude: “If I Had a Hammer” by Pete Seeger  Outro: “Faces” by Whitechapel