Sicko Mode ☭

We caught up with our dear comrade Jodi Dean to ask her when communism began for her, and we also chat parties, comrades, political movements and climate Leninism. Buy Comrade: https://www.versobooks.com/books/3060-comrade Jodi's article with Kai on Climate Leninism: https://www.e-flux.com/journal/110/335242/revolution-or-ruin/ Join ACORN ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)(ง ͠° ͟ل͜ ͡°)ง tinyurl.com/y2589kow Bonus content: we discuss the organisational turn.

The second dose of our festive offerings is a new years episode

Merry crimbles from the plague colony :p Siyang and I did one of our random last minute episodes, lots of gold in here. We have a feelings check, talk about air raid shelters, corona, capitalism and the dialectics of Christmas. I drank way too much coffee beforehand and go on several tangents.

We talked with our new friend & comrade Jack (@_jackhy) about ACORN Manchester & ACORN Liverpool. Jack is the newly elected communications officer for ACORN Liverpool (and Siyang is a big fan of his tweets) This episode kind of functions as our introduction to ACORN. Towards the end we talk about the red specter of the Northern republic; the peoples commissar Andy Burnham; & anti-maskism and the severely legitimate distrust of the government in Liverpool. Enjoy worm that's an order. Stay safe, eat out, communize the world 2020 peace Joe-ker xx

We sat down for interview with 'the don' Edmund Hardy, to discuss global capitalism, marxist economics, and the unfolding Corona-crash. In the intro we chit chat about everyone favourites app Next Door. Around 31:07 is the interview if you wanna skip the ice cream and move straight to the brain food. Lot's of fireworks were going off in and around Edmunds house during the interview, which adds a certain je ne sais quoi to the mix.

Siyang and I did a long form interview with Vik ChechI-Ribeiro, about his latest article in Tribune: https://tribunemag.co.uk/2020/09/how-teachers-organised-in-a-pandemic. Defo read the article then have a listen, as both article and podcast cover really useful stuff: like the new trade unionism, and organising to win in workplaces like schools. The interview starts around 11:36 if you wanna skip there and avoid our corona chat intro, although we do discuss rick-rolling (it's back baby and it's still good awooooooo). Also we did have some audio issues - no I won't explain them - and no I won't apologize. We do this for free out of love, and a lack of alternatives - sicko mode inc. was not built on trust, but on revulsion. If you experience any audio discomfit that's part and parcel my friend.

Stella della Rossa joins us to talk being a sabbatical officer - at a now deceased institution - and we chat students political generally.

Siyang and Joey are in isolation due to an outbreak in their Cambridge lighthouse. They apply their vulgar marxism and cynical delirium to the present state of things. There is a lengthy discussion of work and organsing in the education sector, and a reasonable bit of banter. Peace xx

Following the murder of George Floyd on May 25th, protests against police violence have erupted across the US and in major cities around the world. We're joined by Jihye, our US class war correspondent, to discuss these events and what's happening on the ground in New York. Support the uprisings by donating here and here. Learn about abolition here and share far and wide!

Schools in the UK never closed - as educators have been running them for the children of key workers and others - but now the government is trying rush schools into resuming a full service, against the advice of SAGE, NEU, BMA, and many others. We caught up with NEU organiser Ellie for an emergency mini-sode, to find out what's going on.

We were blessed to have Vijay Prashad join us for a long-form interview.

We talk about Animal Crossing but mainly video games much more generally - our faves but also the industry - and do some marxist and cultural analysis Featuring a segment with Marijam Didžgalvytė, and a long form interview with Holly Firmin.

Siyang, Joe and Miriam indulge in a little stan culture of dear Mr Lenin, whilst avoiding a full hagiography.

Join as we try to understand the 2020 oil crisis, with our chief economist Edmund Hardy, and chief ecologist Chris Saltmarsh. https://tribunemag.co.uk/2020/04/do-not-resuscitate-the-oil-industry

Just as David Bowie did some of his greatest work in Berlin, this is our groundbreaking New York episode - with our special guest star US class war correspondent Jihye. We talk about what's going down in New York - analyse how it got to be the pandemic ridden neoliberal metropolitan capital of the world - and repeatedly allude to the Anthony Weiner sexting scandal.

This is the first ever ‘video club' edition of Sicko Mode, where we watch Stuart Hall's 1983 television documentary ‘Spectres of Marx', which is under an hour, and you can watch it on youtube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6TZi9w6j-A&fbclid=IwAR3AdP7roW9rzEcoa8QxNBKBVNhtiSNYBJlfkNpQc-9nGe9Jyo_YcajSK78 We open up by talking about the ‘Great Lockdown' recession modelled by the IMF, and do some other assorted analysis of the juncture between economics and Covid-19, but then we have a roving discussion about Hall's entertaining, short documentary. Make sure to watch the doc, then listen to the episode. Although actually we are also very entertaining, so you could just listen to our witty banter and skip the doc, but the doc is less than hour so maybe just watch it.

Siyang and I read the Labour leak so you don't have to; we share some of the salacious details - and some analysis. For how much longer will the Labour party be our political horizon? Quarantine film recommendation: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_the_President%27s_Men_(film) Outro music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5UU2TxOcZs

Join Siyang and Joe for episode 3, where we discuss Corbyn's legacy, the coming recession, and our revolutionary Comrade Britney. London Renters' Union coronavirus rent crisis info: londonrentersunion.org/c19rentcrisis/ CAPE guide to supporting people inside during the pandemic: cape-campaign.org/support-people-i…during-covid-19/

Welcome to Episode 2, where we discuss how we got the lockdown, but not the one that we wanted. Catch up with your pals Siyang and Joe as we make sense of the lockdown, share our journeys of swoletarianisation, and talk about good (and not so good) things to do with your quarantine days.

Siyang and Joe discuss the coronavirus and the communist hypothesis.

In episode 4 we unveil our world exclusive interview with Keir Starmer. We also hold our first Comrades' Question Time - the Gardeners' Question Time (for communists) - where we answer all of our listeners questions. Here are the texts we mentioned: tricontinental: https://www.thetricontinental.org/newsletterissue/newsletter-14-2020-migrant-workers/ debt stuff: https://qz.com/africa/1828110/coronavirus-africa-faces-recession-debt-problems-commodity-hit/ history is marching: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-S-CwVJxxug jodi dean - comrade: https://www.versobooks.com/books/3060-comrade quotation from angela davis: an autobiography pp 187-8 https://notesfrombelow.org https://novaramedia.com/2020/04/09/an-unprecedented-economic-crisis-is-about-to-hit-the-global-south-we-must-cancel-debts-now/