SPS

We're back with a long episode in two parts. In the first half, Pam, Natalie, and Ed reflect upon the closing plenary of the 2025 Platypus International Convention, "Is there a Left in the 21st Century?" which featured Andrew Hartman (author of Marx in America), Branko Marcetic (Democratic Socialists of America & Jacobin author), Chris Cutrone (Platypus), and Alex Higgins (Prometheus Journal). In the second half, Tamas and Andony sit down with Doug Lain to discuss his experience of the 80s and 90s counter-cultural Left, and possible parallels with our current moment. ----- Is there a Left in the 21st Century? (4/5/2025) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EE0zr2hs8i4 SPS Intro to the Platypus International Convention https://soundcloud.com/platypus-affiliated-society/2025-convention Platypus Summer 2025 Reading Group: Pre-Marxian Socialism https://platypus1917.org/2025/05/22/summer-2025-readings-pre-marxian-socialism/ The Legacy of the 1980s (3/31/22) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EG4uFkcNhHE Why Does Society Have Politics? (4/5/25) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8a_-4JRdi6c The Left in the 1980s (2013) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhtI3AfGjcY ----- Original soundtracks by Tamas Vilaghy Editing work by Michael Woodson To learn more about Platypus, go to www.platypus1917.org

Rebekah, Ismail, and Michael introduce the upcoming Platypus International Convention, featuring Bill Ayers, Chris Cutrone, Alex Higgins, Michael Kazin, Branko Marcetic, Dave McKerracher, and Pamela Nogales among many more speakers, teach-ins, and social events. Is There a Left in the 21st Century? April 3rd-5th Chicago, IL Full line-up available at https://www.platypus.events --- Check out our past events at https://platypus1917.org

In this episode of Sh-t Platypus Says, we focus on the German politics in the present and since the aftermath of the New Left. In the first half, Lisa discusses the recent German elections results with Jule, Daron, and Andreas. What does the victory of Friedrich Merz's center-right CDU mean for the Left? In the second half, Lisa sits down with Therri, Marius, and Jo to reflect on our German language Antideutsch panel, forthcoming in English translation in the Platypus Review. They discuss the history of the Antideutsch, the current of the Antideutsch and their influence in Germany, and further questions provoked by our panel. --- Was waren die Antideutsche? (German language panel) Audio: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPbT71IExIw Transcript: https://platypus1917.org/2024/11/03/was_waren_die_antideutschen/ --- Cover image by Martin Steger Original soundtracks by Tamas Vilaghy Editing work by Michael Woodson To learn more about Platypus, go to www.platypus1917.org

Itsi and Johannes sit down with Chris Cutrone to reflect on last year's summer reading group, The Right for the Left. They discuss the historical difference between the Right and the Left, the prevalence of right-wing ideas on the Left, and how the Left conceded the contestation of ideas to the Right. The full syllabus can be found here: https://platypus1917.org/2024/05/08/summer-2024-readings-the-right-for-the-left/ Visit our website at www.platypus1917.org

Episode 71 comes in two parts: In the first, Pam sits down with Audrey and Itsï to discuss the assassination of United Healthcare's CEO, and what the Left has to say about it. They consider the historical anarchist tactic of the propaganda of the deed, and what Marxism had to say about it. In the second part, Lucy and Wentai interview Nina Power, a writer active since the 90s on the British Left. They reflect on the experience of the Gen X and Millennial Left in the UK, the changes in feminism and gender politics during that time, and revisit her first book from 2009, One Dimensional Woman. Visit our website at www.platypus1917.org --- LINKS Unherd Interview, 26 July 2024 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aI7p1UypGqA Nina Power, One Dimensional Woman (2009) https://files.libcom.org/files/onedimensionalwoman.pdf Nina Power, What do Men Want? Masculinity and its Discontents (2022) https://www.amazon.co.uk/What-Men-Want-Masculinity-Discontents/dp/0241356504

In this episode, Pam sits down with Platypus members, Ethan and Gabe, to discuss Trump's reelection and the Republicans' victory in Congress, the Left's nostalgia for Bernie along with its efforts the "critique" the Democrats, and the new multiracial coalition behind the GOP. In the second part, Daniel and Itsï sit down with Carlos Garrido, Director of the Midwestern Marx Institute and Secretary of Education for the American Communist Party, founded this year. They discuss American Marxism, W.E.B. DuBois, the launch of the ACP, and why now might be the moment for a communist party. Our volume "Marxism in the Age of Trump" is now on sale and available to purchase here: https://platypus-publishing.square.site/product/marxism-in-age-of-trump/5?cs=true&cst=custom ---- "The Left and the 2024 Election" (10/30/24 panel) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IbzY1kaG2c --- Eugene V. Debs - The Negro In the Class Struggle (1903) https://www.marxists.org/archive/debs/works/1903/negro.htm Constitution of the American Communist Party (2024) https://acp.us/2024-constitution.pdf

This episode comes in two parts. At the beginning of this year the PAS published its second installment of the Platypus Review Reader. This volume, in addition to Marxism in the Age of Trump and Chris Cutrone's recent publication The Death of the Millennial Left, are a curated selection of articles in our monthly publication spanning between 2013 and 2017. In the first segment, we present a roundtable with Platypus members involved in the curation, publication and digestion of the Platypus Review Reader 2, opening up a discussion about the long history of the Platypus Review, the denouement of the Millennial Left, and how we make this history meaningful as the Zoomer Left enters the mid-2020s. In the second segment, Pam N. sits down for an interview led by our German members, Kat and Lara, to discuss the teach-in she gave in November 2023, after the October 7th attacks, and take up the horizons of possibility of the Millennial Left, the new forms of politicization and depoliticization, and the task of political education by Platypus today. --- Platypus Review Reader 2 Roundtable links: "The Platypus Review Reader" 1 and 2 and "Marxism in the Age of Trump" are available at https://platypus1917.org/publishing/ Full table of contents for the PRR2 available at https://platypus-publishing.square.site/product/pr-reader-ii-soft-/4?si=true "Editorial Statement" for the Platypus Review: https://platypus1917.org/platypus-review/editorial-statement/ Some key articles mentioned: "Program and Utopia" Platypus Panel (July 2013) https://platypus1917.org/2013/07/01/program-and-utopia/ "What is a Political Party for the Left?" Platypus panel (2015) https://platypus1917.org/2015/08/30/political-party-left-3/ Teo Velissaris., "Ghosts of national sovereignty: SYRIZA and the Left in the current situation" (September 2015) https://platypus1917.org/2015/09/01/ghosts-national-sovereignty-syriza-left-current-situation/ "1917-2017" Platypus Panel (September 2017) https://platypus1917.org/2017/08/29/1917-2017/ --- Nogales Interview links: Pamela C. Nogales C., “Helplessness without history: Political education after the Millennial Left” in the Platypus Review 170 (October 2024) https://platypus1917.org/2024/10/01/helplessness-without-history-political-education-after-the-millennial-left/ Pamela C. Nogales C., “Ohnmacht ohne Geschichte: Politische Bildung nach der Millenial Linken” Die Platypus Review 33 (September/Oktober 2024) https://platypus1917.org/2024/10/01/nogales_ohnmacht_ohne_geschichte/ SPS #67 Interviews with encampment participants https://soundcloud.com/platypus-affiliated-society/ep67 “Beyond Left and Right,” Platypus public panel, London, (July 2024) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25pD9iyQmr0&t=84s Benjamin M. Studebaker, “Beyond Bonapartism: Breaking statephobic thought taboos” in the Platypus Review 166 (May 2024) https://platypus1917.org/2024/05/01/beyond-bonapartism-breaking-statephobic-thought-taboos/ Pamela C. Nogales C., “Platypus at #Occupy: Lessons learned from the death of the Millennial Left” in the Platypus Review 137 (June 2021) https://platypus1917.org/2021/06/01/platypus-at-occupy/ Efraim Carlebach, “The unchanging core of Marxism: An interview with Ian Birchall” in the Platypus Review 102 (December 2017 – January 2018) https://platypus1917.org/2017/12/02/unchanging-core-marxism-interview-ian-birchall/ James Heartfield “The anti-political party, Book Review: Ian Birchall. Tony Cliff: A Marxist for His Time. London: Bookmarks, 2011” in the Platypus Review 55 (April 2013) https://platypus1917.org/2013/04/01/the-anti-political-party/ Erin Hagood, “Have we unlearned how to learn? 1968 and today” in the Platypus Review 168 (July - August 2024) https://platypus1917.org/2024/07/01/have-we-unlearned-how-to-learn-1968-and-today/ 50 Years of 1968, Platypus public panel series (2018) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMYuijyS19Q&list=PLNc4xGUuaRwmXgnewb_tYfhp8_YTn_c9F&pp=iAQB

On this episode of SPS, Pamela N. and Platypus member Adrienne F. interview Nadine Strossen, an American legal scholar and civil liberties activist. Strossen served as the president of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) from 1991 to 2008; she is currently a senior fellow at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Education Expression (FIRE); and is the author of Free Speech: What Everyone Needs to Know (2023). We discuss her history on the Left, her relationship to the antiwar movement, the Students for a Democratic Society, and radical & progressive positions today. We also take up the recent illiberal turn in society, and what if any effect it has had on the ACLU, as well as her proposed solutions. Finally, we take a critical look at demands by the Left to reform the Supreme Court. If you live in the East Coast, Platypus is hosting its annual East Coast Conference in Boston on Oct 11-13. There will be a variety of panels, teach-ins and social gatherings. Panels include, "The American Revolution and Communism" held at Boston College on 10.12 and "The Role of Theory in Defeat," at Harvard University on 10.13. More information will be available at: https://www.facebook.com/platypusbc | https://x.com/BcPlatypus | https://www.instagram.com/platypusbc/ The French chapter of Platypus is holding a virtual panel, on "Popular Front Politics Today," held in French on Sat Sept 28 via Zoom. The panel will feature, Gilles Candar, Aymeric Monville, and a member of the Spartacist League. More information will be available at: https://www.instagram.com/platypusfrance LINKS - Strossen, Free Speech: What Everyone Needs to Know (2023) https://global.oup.com/academic/product/free-speech-9780197699652 - Strossen, Hate: Why We Should Resist It With Free Speech, Not Censorship (2018) https://www.amazon.com/-/en/Nadine-Strossen/dp/0190859121 - Strossen, Defending Pornography: Free Speech, Sex, and the Fight for Women's Rights (1995, new ed. 2024) https://nyupress.org/9781479830763/defending-pornography/ - Nogales, “The Cancel Wars: The Legacy of the Cultural Turn in the Age of Trump” in Platypus Review 131 (November 2020) https://platypus1917.org/2020/11/01/the-cancel-wars-the-legacy-of-the-cultural-turn-in-the-age-of-trump/ - ACLU Case Selection Guidelines (2017) https://www.aclu.org/sites/default/files/field_document/aclu_case_selection_guidelines.pdf - Strossen, “The First Amendment Doesn't Protect White Supremacists Behind Violent Charlottesville Rallies,” LA Progressive Newsletter, Dec. 7, 2021 - Strossen, “Charlottesville Three Years Later: The First Amendment Confronts Hate and Violence,” Los Angeles Review of Books, Aug. 10, 2020 - Strossen, “The Interdependence of Racial Justice and Free Speech for Racists,” 1 Journal of Free Speech Law 51-70 (2021) - Moyn, “Socialists Have Long Fought to Disempower the Supreme Court. That's More Urgent Than Ever Now,” Jacobin (2020) https://jacobin.com/2020/09/supreme-court-socialists-ruth-bader-ginsburg-death - Cotlin, “Mayor Eric Adams, DSA agree: expand the court” City & State New York (2023) https://www.cityandstateny.com/politics/2023/02/mayor-eric-adams-dsa-agree-expand-court/383006/ - Lazare, “A central driver” in the Weekly Worker (2021) https://weeklyworker.co.uk/worker/1337/a-central-driver/ - Strossen on SCOTUS term limits, in “Forum: What's the Matter With the Supreme Court? And what can be done to fix it?” in The Nation (2018) https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/forum-whats-the-matter-with-the-supreme-court/ - Sublation Media with Doug Lain, “Nadine Strossen Talks to Marxists” (2023) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gd5-KoOosA - “The Politics of Free Speech,” (04/06/24) Platypus International Convention 2024 panel, Chicago, IL. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anorBcUZ-uE - "Free Speech and the Left," Platypus virtual panel (05/02/24), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9xc0IIKUz8

On this episode of SPS, Sophia and Pam hammer out whether or not Kamala Harris IS brat. They discuss the Republican National Convention and the consolidation of the new Republican Party under Trump. In the main segment, Andreas W and Pam N. sit down with Platypus members Ali (Australian National University), Hayes (University of Chicago) and Eli (University of Leipzig) to reflect on the recent pro-Palestinian protests on campus. The episode features recorded interviews with protestors led by Platypus members from around the globe including, Australia, Germany, and the United States. However, these are but a small sample of the on-site conversations led by our members. If you'd like to hear the rest of the interviews, you can find them here: https://t.ly/Fqg53 Episode Links: Platypus Israel-Palestine panels after October 7, 2023 - 11/29/23 UChicago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nw0Rc_3Hn88&t=6487s - 12/3/23 German online panel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGkf83h52MY&t=289s - 12/06/23 Santa Cruz: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IuYSQqasSg&list=PLNc4xGUuaRwn1wDxSIXSSX-S1MKyhNKPu&index=21 - 12/14/23 London: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbkjXoH-jdo - 3/7/24 Northwestern: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaTBLI-ACl0 - 3/11/24 NYU: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4r3Ye10EyOE&list=PLNc4xGUuaRwn1wDxSIXSSX-S1MKyhNKPu&index=18 - 7/20/24 online panel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3brvk76nV4&list=PLNc4xGUuaRwn1wDxSIXSSX-S1MKyhNKPu&index=22 - “Jews and the Socialist Movement” (5/21/24), a Platypus teach-in at the University of Chicago, led by Tony Michels (Professor of American Jewish History, University of Wisconsin). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uigzH4eMA5s - Erin Hagood, “Have we unlearned how to learn? 1968 and today,” originally given as a teach-in at Columbia University and at the New School occupation in April 2024, published in Platypus Review 168 (July - August 2024). https://platypus1917.org/2024/07/01/have-we-unlearned-how-to-learn-1968-and-today/ Original soundtracks by Tamas Vilaghy Editing work by Michael Woodson To learn more about Platypus, go to platypus1917.org

Episode 66 comes in two parts. In our first segment, Lisa sits down with German members Jan and Henry to discuss post-neoliberal transformations in German politics, understood through the AfD and Sahra Wagenknecht's split from Die Linke. In the second segment, Andony talks with fellow West Coast members Octavio, Colin, Ishmael, and Hoang about anarchism on the West Coast, reflecting on the Heart of the Valley Anti-Capitalist Bookfair held in Corvallis, Oregon, and the inaugural Platypus West Coast Conference held in San Diego this February. They discuss the resurgence of anarchism under the Biden presidency in the context of long-standing anarchist traditions on the West Coast. --- Further discussions of German politics (in German): - Was ist DIE LINKE? (13.6.21 Frankfurt) transcript: https://platypus1917.org/2022/08/31/podium_2021_linkspartei/ video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZZb7BZp_bY - Redefreiheit und die Linke (4.11.23 Leipzig) audio: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Rf7K5h3h64 Further materials on anarchism: - Heart of the Valley Anti-Capitalist Bookfair (19-21 January 2024): https://hotvbookfair.noblogs.org - Dual Power: A Strategy To Build Socialism In Our Time (DSA Libertarian Socialist Caucus, 2018): https://dsa-lsc.org/2018/12/31/dual-power-a-strategy-to-build-socialism-in-our-time/ - Reimagining Revolutionary Organizing: A Vision for Dual Power (Institute for Anarchist Studies, 2019): https://anarchiststudies.org/reimagining-revolutionary-organizing-a-vision-for-dual-power/ - Against dogmatic abstraction: A critique of Cindy Milstein on anarchism and Marxism (Platypus Review, 2010): https://platypus1917.org/2010/07/01/against-dogmatic-abstraction/ - Social anarchism or lifestyle anarchism: an unbridgeable chasm (Murray Bookchin, 1995): https://libcom.org/article/social-anarchism-or-lifestyle-anarchism-unbridgeable-chasm-murray-bookchin - Whither anarchism? An interview with Kristian Williams (Platypus Review, 2021): https://platypus1917.org/2021/03/01/whither-anarchism-an-interview-with-kristian-williams/ - Reform, Revolution, and “Resistance:” The problematic forms of “anticapitalism” today (2/18/24 San Diego) audio: https://archive.org/details/reform-resistance-revolution-san-diego

Episode 65 comes in two parts: In the first segment, Andreas talks with Platypus members Clay (Chicago) and Ethan (Philadelphia) about the upcoming Platypus International Convention, taking place in Chicago April 5-7 under the title "What is Left after Trump?". They discuss the various panel topics of this year's 16th Platypus Convention as well as why we keep hosting them. More information can be found at https://sites.google.com/view/whatisleft2024 In our second segment we welcome a triumphant return of the Shit Platypus Does segment - Lisa and Rebekah sit down with members Thuy Linh (Berlin), Noah (Cologne) and Liv (New School) to reflect on the European Conference, held in Berlin at the end of January this year: What did we learn about "The Legacy of Lenin" ? Panels from the 2024 European Conference: Legacy of Lenin panel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoX0unyoPX4 Building a Marxist Mass Party Anew: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ban_NkqrEVE Krise im sozialistischen Lager (in German): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiYby-ScT8U Further videos of events can be found at https://www.youtube.com/@PlatypusAffiliatedSociety Visit our website at http://platypus1917.org

In this episode of Shit Platypus Says, we introduce the first segment of Reds, a series examining the growth of new communist organizations around the world. Hosts Tamas, Lisa, and Rebekah discuss the impetus for such a series: the sudden growth of self-styled communist organizations after a decade of social democratic activity on the Left and a dissatisfaction with liberal politics; a related revision occurring within Trotskyist organizations; and the historical echoes and discontinuities raised by the transition from the Millennial to the Zoomer generation. For the bulk of the segment, our inaugural segment of Reds, Melbourne Platypus members Ryan and Tom sit down with Jamie and Anthony of the Revolutionary Communist Organisation and its Collective of Leninist Youth, based in Australia, for a discussion about its current outlook, challenges, and tasks. The RCO appeared on a panel discussion held by Platypus Melbourne: “Imperialism: What is it, and why should we be against it?” (Dec 2 2023 panel): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLSj2IZOgpg More info about the Revolutionary Communist Organisation (RCO): Program: https://www.revcomorg.info/general-clean Publication “Direct Action”: https://directactionnewcastle.wordpress.com/direct-action-rco/ Queer liberation paper: https://www.revcomorg.info/projecto-1 Collective of Leninist Youth (CLY): Publication “Red Youth Spectre”: www.tinyurl.com/redyouthspectre

Andreas sits down with Berlin-based members Jakob and Tamas to discuss the upcoming sixth annual Platypus European Conference, set to take place January 25th through the 27th. Further info can be found at: https://100yearsafterlenin.com --- A century after Lenin's death, the Platypus Affiliated Society aims to critically examine the legacy of the failure of world revolution. Our sixth annual European Conference provides the time to reflect on the nightmare of the twentieth century through teach-ins, panel discussions, and presentations by international Leftist organizations. We hope thus to contribute to overcoming the present obstacles to any future emancipatory Left. The Left is dead! Long live the Left! Ein Jahrhundert nach dem Tod Lenins sucht die Platypus Affiliated Society nach einer kritischen Auseinandersetzung mit dem Erbe der gescheiterten Weltrevolution. Unsere sechste europäische Konferenz bietet Raum zur Reflexion über den Albtraum des Zwanzigsten Jahrhunderts – mit Teach-ins, Podiumsdiskussionen und Präsentationen internationaler linker Organisationen. Wir hoffen, damit einen Beitrag zur Überwindung der Hindernisse zu leisten, die heute der Formation einer emanzipatorischen Linken entgegenstehen. Die Linke ist tot! Lang lebe die Linke!

This special holiday episode of SPS comes in three parts: (1) In order to make sense of the present, Platypus is hosting an international series of panels "Left Perspectives on the Israel-Palestine Conflict". In the first segment, member Gabe G. and Pamela N. reflect on the first panel of the series, which took place at the University of Chicago. They take up disagreements as well as the assumed agreement and the response from the audience. (2) In the second segment you'll hear soundbites and brief interviews from pro-Palestine rallies recorded by our members in Philadelphia and Auckland, New Zealand. (3) The third part is a deep dive into the Platypus archives. The current conflict has prompted Rebekkah and Lisa to speak with our member Ian M. about past engagements from our archives. They talked about the founding moment of Platypus as well as past panel initiatives on the politics of solidarity and decolonization. References from the Segment Reflecting on the Israel-Palestine Panel - Teach-in Pamela N.: History and Helplessness (UChicago, 09 November 2023) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9BX4HGK1m8&t=148s&ab_channel=PlatypusAffiliatedSociety - Left Perspectives On The Israel Palestine Conflict (Platypus UChicago, 29 November 29 2023) https://youtu.be/Nw0Rc_3Hn88?si=OX1c-WYyfWvSIb7S
 - Left Perspectives On The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (Platypus Oregon State University, November 29, 2023) https://youtu.be/lDnRfYh5tLs?si=qtf2XnPfjLs5jsG - Imperialism! What is it, and why should we be against it? (Platypus Melbourne, 02 December 2023) https://www.youtube.com/live/rLSj2IZOgpg?si=S4QMnYg_NpH5mgeF - Linke Perspektiven auf den Nahostkonflikt (Platypus Germany, 03 December 2023) https://youtu.be/OGkf83h52MY?si=BHi0Dz_WKWl2_lGX - Left Perspectives On The Israel Palestine Conflict (Platypus London, 14 December 2023) https://archive.org/details/left-perspectives-on-the-israel-palestine-conflict-platypus-london - The Politics of War and Peace (Platypus Northwestern University, 17 November 2023) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACIzgf-mEi8&ab_channel=PlatypusAffiliatedSociety References from the Archive Segment: - 2006: Moishe Postone, “History and helplessness: Mass mobilization and contemporary forms of anticapitalism” https://platypus1917.org/wp-content/uploads/readings/postonemoishe_historyhelplessness.pdf - 2008: Ian Morrison, “Ba'athism and the history of the Left in Iraq: Violence and politics” https://platypus1917.org/2008/03/01/baathism-and-the-history-of-the-left-in-iraq-violence-and-politics/ - 2010: Against the status quo: An Interview with Iranian trade unionist Homayoun Pourzad https://platypus1917.org/2010/01/08/against-the-status-quo-an-interview-with-iranian-trade-unionist-homayoun-pourzad/ - 2021: Panel "The Politics of Solidarity: Israel, Palestine, and the Left" w/ Yoav Gal Tamir (Da'am Workers' Party), Arash Azizi (Left Party of Iran {People's Fedaian), Marco (Angry Workers of the World), Moshé Machover (founder - Israeli Socialist Organisation and its publication Matzpen) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORoCuGAPheQ&t=12s - 2010: Which Way Forward for Palestinian Liberation? (w/ Richard Rubin, Joel Kovel, Hussein Ibish) https://platypus1917.org/2010/04/08/which-way-forward-for-palestinian-liberation-platypus-review/ - 2023: Panel "Decolonisation and the Left" w/ Ralph Leonard, James Heartfield, Andrew Sanchez https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfScpu06K_o - ​​2010: Initiative Sozialistisches Forum, “Communism and Israel” https://platypus1917.org/2010/10/08/communism-and-israel/ - 2023: Teach-in Pamela N.: History and Helplessness https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9BX4HGK1m8&t=148s&ab_channel=PlatypusAffiliatedSociety - 2023: Teach-in Lucy P.: The Anti War Movement, Platypus And The Death Of The Millennial Left https://archive.org/details/antiwarmovementteach-in Platypus European Conference, 25 - 27 Jan. 2024 in Berlin https://100yearsafterlenin.com/

We discuss this year's protests in France around police brutality, pension reform, and cost of living with our members Lucas from Bretagne and Paul from Vienna, as well as check in with Parisian protestors with Kristian. Weekly Coffee Breaks in Paris are held at Le Grand Breuget 17 rue Breuget 75011 Paris To stay up to date with Platypus France, get in touch here: https://www.platypusfrance.org

On this special back-to-school episode of SPS, Pamela & Laurie discuss the recent Russell Brand controversy. Brand has been in the news lately, under some heat, as a result of public allegations of sexual assault and misconduct. We take this up in the context of the ongoing sex panic and the ongoing transformation of feminism after #metoo, which leads us to discuss the Barbie movie. On the second part of the episode, our members Evan and the current president of Platypus, Erin, sit down with Benjamin Studebaker, the author of the recently published book, The Chronic Crisis of American Democracy: The Way is Shut (2023). Studebaker explains that the crisis of American democracy is deeply embedded in the America economic system, and develops a theory of “legitimacy crisis”. They take this up in their interview and ask some questions about the current state of American politics as well as his formulations of the ends of a Left political movement. We hope you enjoy this expanded edition of SPS, if you like it, leave us a comment and maybe you'll find more of these longer episodes in the future. If you like the podcast share it and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, it helps us get the word out about the pod. Links: - System Update w/ Glenn Greenwald: “New Russell Brand Accusations Deserve Scrutiny & Due Process; Yoel Roth Wails Over Censorship-Regime Backlash; & 4 Republicans Demand Insane Ukraine Escalation” https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/new-russell-brand-accusations-deserve-scrutiny-due/id1669610956?i=1000628426173 -Benjamin Studebaker, The Chronic Crisis of American Democracy: The Way is Shut (2023) https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-28210-2 - “What is Marxism for?” A Panel with Benjamin Studebaker, Donald Parkinson, James Heartfield, and Chris Cutrone, PR# 153 (February 2023) https://platypus1917.org/2023/02/01/what-is-marxism-for/ - “Marxism and liberalism” A Panel with James Heartfield, Spencer Leonard, Anthony Monteiro, and Benjamin Studebaker, PR #150 (October 2022) https://platypus1917.org/2022/10/01/marxism-and-liberalism-2/ Original soundtracks by Tamas Vilaghy Editing work by Michael Woodson

In this episode of SPS, Tamas sits down with Aram Shakkour (@ShaqArama) of the Szikra Movement (@SzikraMozgalom), an oppositional movement based around Budapest, Hungary. They discuss the state of leftist politics in Hungary after the oppositional coalition which Szikra supported, United for Hungary, failed to stop Viktor Orbán's FIDESZ from winning a two-thirds parliamentary majority. With over 54% of the vote, FIDESZ received the highest vote share of any party since the fall of communism. They reflect on the three decades since the “system change,” as the events of 1989 are known in Hungary, and the deeper history of the Left in Hungary in the 20th century - Szikra's : www.szikramozgalom.hu/about_us - SPS #44: After the Freedom Convoy & the Hungarian Left Today - https://soundcloud.com/platypus-affiliated-society/ep44

In this episode, the Editor-in-Chief of the German Platypus Review, Tobias Rochlitz, sits down with Platypus members Stefan H, Jan BH, and our co-host Lisa M, all of whom contributed to the content of the special PR issue on Gender, to discuss an reflect upon the interview with Koschka Linkerhand, Tove Soiland and the panel discussion 'Gender and the Left‘ with Platypus member Stefan H, Roswitha Scholz and Sara Rukaj. They talk about how the ideas of the New Left survived and continued in the Millennial Left generation, the Heideggerian aspect of Lacan and about the Millennial Left's focus on so-called “Materialism”. German-language Platypus Review #23: https://platypus1917.org/wp-content/uploads/ausgabe_23.pdf Interview with Koschka Linkerhand: https://platypus1917.org/2023/01/19/interview_linkerhand/ Interview with Tove Soiland: https://platypus1917.org/2023/01/19/interview_soiland/ Panel: Gender and the Left with Roswitha Scholz, Sara Rukaj and Stefan Hain: https://platypus1917.org/2023/07/01/gender-and-the-left/ [German: https://platypus1917.org/2023/01/19/gender_podium/ ] References: Gary Mucciaroni, Sherry Wolf, Kenyon Farrow, and Greg Gabrellas (2010): Which way forward for sexual liberation? https://platypus1917.org/2011/02/01/which-way-forward-for-sexual-liberation/ Roxanne Baker, Judith Shapiro, and Sarah McDonald (2018): Marxism and feminism https://platypus1917.org/2018/05/04/marxism-and-feminism/ Cornelia Möser, Lucy Parker, Ursula Jensen, and Joy McReady (2015): Women: the Longest Revolution https://platypus1917.org/2016/03/07/women-longest-revolution-frankfurt/ David Faes (2018): Transgender liberation? A movement whose time has passed https://platypus1917.org/2018/11/02/transgender-liberation-a-movement-whose-time-has-passed/ Stefan Hain and Andreas Wintersperger (2021): Psychoanalysis and Marxism https://platypus1917.org/2022/07/03/psychoanalysis-and-marxism/ Max Horkheimer (1926–31): “The Little Man and the Philosophy of Freedom,” in Dämmerung https://platypus1917.org/wp-content/uploads/readings/horkheimer_dawnex.pdf Original soundtracks by Tamas Vilaghy Editing work by Michael Woodson Design by Max Hörügel

In this episode Pamela and Laurie discuss the Trump indictment, DeSantis, and the conservative “resolution” to the crisis of neoliberalism through the Culture Wars. In our main segment, Platypus members from Vienna, Berlin, Melbourne and Chicago reflect on the Platypus panel, "A Century of Critical Theory: The Legacy of György Lukács,” (April 1st, 2023), the closing plenary of the 15th Platypus International Convention. The centenary marking the publication of his magnum opus, History and Class Consciousness: Studies in Marxist Dialectics (1923), offers the occasion to ask: What is the meaning of Lukács and HCC today? Over the last 100 years, various claims have been made of HCC. On the one hand, it is said to have inaugurated “Western Marxism” and set the foundation for the Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School. On the other, people have accused it of giving philosophical justifications for terroristic or opportunistic tendencies within Marxism–Leninism. We asked our panelists to consider the following: What is the relationship between political practice and theory that Lukács articulated in the revolutionary period of 1919–1925, based on his close reading of Lenin and Luxemburg? What in his critique of reification and defense of Marxist orthodoxy did the later Lukács disavow? What can we make of Lukács's legacy today? How have we received his investigation and elaboration of the problematic of Marxism? What are the essential issues raised for our time? "A Century of Critical Theory: The Legacy of György Lukács" Platypus 15th annual international Convention. Feat. Chris Cutrone, Andrew Feenberg, Mike Macnair Recording: https://youtu.be/K9Zfn2CZz_Y "The Politics of Critical Theory,” December 3rd, 2021, hosted by the New York City chapters of the Platypus Affiliated Society, feat. Jay Bernstein (New School); Jonathon Catlin (PhD student in history at Princeton University); Erin Hagood (Platypus Affiliated Society) https://www.youtube.com/live/pXgFDfJbgdM?feature=share “The Politics of Critical Theory,” April 3, 2021, Platypus Affiliated Society International Convention, with Chris Cutrone (Platypus Affiliated Society), Dennis Graemer (Association for the Design of History), Douglas Kellner (UCLA, author of Herbert Marcuse and the Crisis of Marxism), and Doug Lain (Zer0 Books). https://platypus1917.org/2021/10/01/the-politics-of-critical-theory-2/ “The Politics Of Critical Theory,” University of Vienna, 3rd annual Platypus European Conference, feat. Chris Cutrone(Platypus Affiliated Society); Martin Suchanek (Workers Power, Berlin); Haziran Zeller (Berlin) https://archive.org/details/platypus_politicscriticaltheoryeuroconferencevienna021717_2/platypus_politicscriticaltheoryeuroconferencevienna021717_1.MP3 “The Politics of Critical Theory,” Third Annual Platypus International Convention with Chris Cutrone, Andrew Feenberg, Richard Westerman, and Nicholas Brown (Platypus Review 37, July 2011). Edited transcript: https://platypus1917.org/2011/07/09/the-politics-of-critical-theory/ “Lukács' Marxism” a panel discussion organized by the Platypus Affiliated Society, held on March 19, 2011, at Left Forum, Pace University. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9164kAaFTPI&ab_channel=PlatypusAffiliatedSociety Marco Torres, “Politics as a Form of Knowledge: A Brief Introduction to Georg Lukács” Platypus Review #1 (November 2007) https://platypus1917.org/2007/11/01/politics-as-a-form-of-knowledge-a-brief-introduction-to-georg-lukacs/ SPS on Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/4ftkDeIALI2l8k2A49OVcs on Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sps/id1305502112 on Soundcloud: @platypus-affiliated-society on IG: @shitplatypussays SPS is hosted by Andreas W. & Pamela N., with original tracks by Tamas Vilaghy, and editing assistance by Michael Woodson and Tamas Vilaghy. Our Sh-t Platypus Does team is Lisa M. and Rebekah P. To learn more about Platypus, go to platypus1917.org

In the first part of this episode, Lisa is joined by our German members Jakob, Nezam and Sebastian to discuss the crisis and history of DIE LINKE. They reflect on Platypus panels, interviews, and PR articles to think about the recent manifestations of the crisis within DIE LINKE and the radical Left's relation to the party. They talk about the international influence of the party and its impact on the entire Millennial Left generation. 
The second part of this episode features interviews conducted by our member Nezam at the conference of the faction „Revolutionärer Bruch“ („revolutionary split/break”) in January of this year. The faction was founded by members of DIE LINKE and its youth organization Linksjugend solid to discuss various strategies for moving forward and to deepen the assumption that DIE LINKE might no longer be a political home for the Left. References: 
> 2022: quoted ISA article: https://internationalsocialist.net/en/2022/12/germany  > 2023: Panel Berlin: “War das schon der heiße Herbst?” (w/ Marek Schauer – Jurist und Journalist, Marcus Staiger – Heizung, Brot & Frieden, Wilhelm Schulz – GAM, Peter Nowak – freier Journalist) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QK2wLePamSk > 2023: Panel Leipzig: "Heißer Herbst und die Linke" ( w/ Tim – "Jetzt Reichts" Linksjugend, Jonathan Eibisch, Revolution, Internationale Jugend/FKO) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zb52w0agoJ0 > German Platypus Review #6 in occasion of the General Election 2017: https://platypus1917.org/category/ausgabe-6/ including interviews w/ Sascha Staničić, Wolfgang Gehrcke (see below), Werner Dreibus and Dietmar Bartsch  > 2022: Panel “Was ist DIE LINKE” (w/ Georg Fülberth, Thies Gleiss, Bernd Riexinger und Martin Suchanek) https://platypus1917.org/2022/08/31/podium_2021_linkspartei/ > 2022: Panel “Reform, Revolution, Resistance” (w/ Anna, Michael Brie, Dennis Graemer, Alexander Neupert-Doppler)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmSpjxaiGFk > 2013: Panel "Conversations on the Left: What is to be done?" (w/ Bhaskar Sunkara, James Turley, and Ben Blumberg)https://platypus1917.org/2013/06/01/conversations-on-the-left-what-is-to-be-done/ and on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3y_dldZ1oZM > 2017: Interview w/ Wolfgang Gehrcke: "Der Fortschritt der bürgerlichen Gesellschaft muss verteidigt werden" https://platypus1917.org/2017/08/12/der-fortschritt-der-burgerlichen-gesellschaft-muss-verteidigt-werden-interview-mit/ > 2013: Panel "Reform, Revolution, Resistance" (w/ Thomas Seibert, Norbert Trenkle, Daniel Loick, und Janine Wissler) https://platypus1917.org/category/platypus-review-authors/janine-wissler/  > 2023: quoted TAZ interview w/ Katja Kipping: https://taz.de/Kipping-ueber-Berlin-und-die-Linke/!5910197/ Original soundtracks by Tamas Vilaghy Editing work by Michael Woodson Design by Jakob Trescher

On this episode of SPS, Pamela & Andreas interview Spencer Leonard. Spencer is a founding member of Platypus and has recently published a two-volume selection of Marx & Engels journalism. The first volume focuses on Bonapartism, with selections from 1851–1859, and the second focuses on their writings on imperialism, with selections from 1856–1862. He speaks to us about the democratic revolution, liberalism, and the self-contradiction of bourgeois society. Spencer challenges the thesis put forth by Domenico Losurdo of an advancing "de-emancipation" alongside emancipation, and raises the problem of Marxism in the 20th century, and its legacy in the 21st. Links: Marx and Engels on Bonapartism, Selected Journalism, 1851–59 https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781666928044/Marx-and-Engels-on-Bonapartism-Selected-Journalism-1851 Marx and Engels on Imperialism, Selected Journalism, 1856–62 https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781498559232/Marx-and-Engels-on-Imperialism-Selected-Journalism-1856 Domenico Losurdo in the Platypus Review (May 2012) https://platypus1917.org/2012/05/01/liberalism-and-marx-domenico-losurdo/

On this episode of SPS, we first focus on our Annual International Convention (March 29–April 1), which will take place in Chicago, at the University of Chicago, Northwestern University, & the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Planning committee members, Ryan & Ethan introduce the convention theme, panels, and historical concerns across the upcoming events. Our second segment is a deep dive into the Platypus archives on the question of imperialism & anti-imperialism, prompted by the one-year anniversary of the Ukrainian War, and the twentieth anniversary of the Iraq War. Members, Sunit & Farsad, join Lisa and Rebekah to reflect on the Platypus panels on the Ukraine crisis a year ago, and on the recent developments of the anti-imperialist and anti-fascist Left. They go back to the founding moment of Platypus and the very first panel "Imperialism: what is it, why should we be against it?" (2007). Platypus International Convention 2023 program: https://platypus1917.org/platypus-international-convention/15th-annual-platypus-international-convention-history-and-class-consciousness/ Convention Segment Links: > Mike Macnair "The Philosophy Trap" (2013): https://weeklyworker.co.uk/worker/987/lukacs-the-philosophy-trap/ > CPGB/Platypus dialog in full (2013): https://chriscutrone.platypus1917.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/cpgbcontralukacs031513.pdf > Chris Cutrone "CPGB Contra Lukacs" (2014): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyAx32lzC0U (in the PR: https://platypus1917.org/2014/02/01/why-still-read-lukacs-the-place-of-philosophical-questions-in-marxism/) Imperialism & Anti-imperialism Segment Links: > 2007: Panel: Imperialism: What is it, why should we be against it?https://platypus1917.org/2010/07/09/imperialism-what-is-it-why-should-we-be-against-it/ > 2022: Chris Cutrone "Ukraine: More of the same" https://platypus1917.org/2022/04/01/ukraine-more-of-the-same/ > 2022: Crisis in Ukraine and the Left Panel iterations: >>> Frankfurt: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIPr7AyMWak&list=PLNc4xGUuaRwmAmGIlzqMgDuAkQNP-T0sW&index=4 >>> online in German: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PiFxUcBxYqQ&list=PLNc4xGUuaRwmAmGIlzqMgDuAkQNP-T0sW&index=7 >>> online in English: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3js9LcbDTY0&list=PLNc4xGUuaRwmAmGIlzqMgDuAkQNP-T0sW&index=6 > 2007: Interview with Tariq Ali by Chris Cutrone https://archive.org/details/TariqAliInterviewedByChrisCutronePlatypusChicago > 2020: Panel “Imperialism and the Left” https://platypus1917.org/2020/07/01/imperialism-and-the-left/ and ​​https://platypus1917.org/2020/09/01/imperialism-and-the-left-2/ > debate between Tariq Ali and Christopher Hitchens: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5atWb_LD-2I > 2016: Panel "Was ist Imperialismus? Warum sollten wir dagegen sein?" https://platypus1917.org/2016/06/24/podiumsdiskussion-vom-16-06-2016-ist-imperialismus-warum-sollten-wir-dagegen-sein/

This episode includes an interview with Platypus founding member Chris Cutrone, who was interviewed by Johannes K. and Lisa on his article “The end of the Gilded Age: Discontents of the Second Industrial Revolution today”. They talked about the history of progressivism, the deferred problems of the Gilded Age that still impact us today, the unfulfilled task of the Left, as well as the things that led Chris to write this article back in 2017. Links: > 2017: Chris Cutrone, The end of the Gilded Age: Discontents of the Second Industrial Revolution today https://platypus1917.org/2017/12/02/end-gilded-age-discontents-second-industrial-revolution-today/ > 2017: Chris Cutrone, The Millennial Left is dead https://platypus1917.org/2017/10/01/millennial-left-dead/ > 2020: "The Legacy of the American Revolution", a Platypus Lecture Series https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNc4xGUuaRwkwEdVEwLV6X8NxT49XEtx8 SPS episodes contain original tracks by Tamas Vilaghy, and editing assistance by Michael Woodson and Tamas Vilaghy. To learn more about Platypus, go to platypus1917.org

In the first part of this episode, Lisa & Rebekah are joined by members, Laurie R. & Jasper to talk about how Platypus has captured the relationship between the Left & the elections. They have gone into the archives of the Platypus Affiliated Society, and have asked how our work can help us to think about these inflection points on the Left across the elections, namely, 2008 (Obama); 2016 (Brexit; Trump; AfD); 2020 (Trump & Biden, Corbyn & Boris); and the coming 2024 election. In the second segment, Pamela sits down with the Platypus Review Editor-in-Chief, Lou S., to discuss what is in the Dec 2022—Jan 2023 issue, including the interview with Vivek Chibber, his perspectives on ideology, the task of the Left today, and the DSA & the elections, as well as a book review of Chibber's book by Russell Jacoby, and the interview with Enzo Traverso. Election & the Left Links: 2008: "Obama: Progress in regress: The end of 'black politics'" https://platypus1917.org/2008/09/01/obama-progress-in-regress-the-end-of-black-politics/ 2016: "Why not Trump?" https://platypus1917.org/2016/09/06/why-not-trump/ 2016: Teach-in: "Anti-trumpism: what does it mean for the Left?" https://archive.org/details/TeachinAntitrumpism 2017: "The Millennial Left is dead" https://platypus1917.org/2017/10/01/millennial-left-dead/ 2019: Panel "Democracy and the Left" with Benjamin Studebaker (Cambridge University, What's Left podcast), Marjorie Mayo (Emeritus Professor, Goldsmiths University), James Heartfield (Independent author, Spiked!) and Adam Buick (Socialist Party of Great Britain) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzd_0dy2Tz4 Platypus Review 152 (December 2022-January 2023) https://platypus1917.org/category/pr/ Interview with Vivek Chibber https://platypus1917.org/2022/12/01/confronting-capitalism-an-interview-with-vivek-chibber/ Book Review of Chibber by Russell Jacoby https://platypus1917.org/2022/12/01/shadowboxing-a-review-of-vivek-chibbers-the-class-matrix/ Interview with Enzo Traverso https://platypus1917.org/2022/12/01/we-were-orphans-an-interview-with-enzo-traverso/

On this special holiday episode, SPS brings to you reports from protests in the USA, Germany and Austria. We include shotgun interviews with participants and reflections by our members. In the first segment, our West Coast members interview the academic workers part of the strikes at the University of California. They ask the strikers at the LA and Santa Barbara campuses about their participation in the strike and their views on the relationship between this labor struggle and the long-term vision for the Left. On the second segment, our members Marius, Lisa and Andreas went to several university occupations organized by “End fossil: Occupy!” –– a climate justice movement with the goal to put an end to the fossil fuel economy. Students occupied lecture halls in different cities for several weeks to draw attention to their demands and to initiate negotiations with their respective university administrations. Links: (1) On December 15th, 2022 the Platypus Affiliated Society hosted a public forum in New York City called "Labor and the Left." This conversation was hosted in the immediate wake of the 2022 strike at The New School for Social Research. Recording: https://youtu.be/f7o1XKt2mpc (2) "The Concept of the Left and Right" a Platypus panel. Edited transcript printed in Platypus Review 68 (July 2014) https://platypus1917.org/2014/07/04/concept-left-right/ (3) G.M. Tamás, "Telling the truth about class" in Vol. 42: Socialist Register 2006: Telling the Truth, https://platypus1917.org/wp-content/uploads/tamasgm_tellingthetruthaboutclass.pdf (4) "End Fossil: Occupy!" website  https://endfossil.de

On this episode of SPS, Pamela first sits down with Platypus Brazilian members Paulo & Rosa. They comment on the election results, how the Left is responding to the return of Lula, and what the election of the Brazilian Workers Party means for the future of a socialist Left. In the second part, Platypus Oregon member Andony hosts a roundtable conversation on the U.S. Midterm elections with members from around the country. From New Hampshire, Walla Walla, Washington, Philadelphia, to Merced, California, we hear what our members have to say about the left's response and if there is anything for us to learn from this election. SPS is broadcasted on Apple Podcasts, Spotify & Soundcloud. If you like the episode, share it and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts. It helps us get the word out! I. Brazilian Election Segment Links: SPS Ep. 10: On Cynthia Nixon, the Brazilian elections, and Afrofuturism (Sept 2018) w/ Alex Hochuli https://soundcloud.com/platypus-affiliated-society/ep10 "What is political party for the Left?" With Leo Panitch, Jackie Barkley, Antoni Wysocki, and Carlos Pessoa (Platypus Review 74 | March 2015) https://platypus1917.org/2015/03/01/political-party-left-2/ How each party chose to express their support for Lula:  - PSTU (Unified Socialist Workers Party) - https://www.pstu.org.br/2o-turno-para-derrotar-bolsonaro-voto-critico-em-lula/ - PSOL (Socialism and Freedom party) https://psol50.org.br/psol-vai-ampliar-mobilizacao-no-2o-turno-para-eleger-lula-presidente/ - UP (Popular Unity) https://www.unidadepopular.org.br/2022/10/abaixo-a-fome-e-o-custo-de-vida-fora-bolsonaro/ - PCB (Brazilian Communist Party) https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SfR5ZYtBAVjgrgKGGlaKFMJE5PLZzBL0/view - PCO (Worker's Cause Party) https://causaoperaria.org.br/2022/a-contribuicao-do-pco-para-a-vitoria-de-lula/ Platypus in Brazil https://platypus1917.org/project/sobre/ https://platypus1917.org/project/o-que-significa-platypus/ plat brazil fb: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100083550673612 Panel: "A crise na Ucrânia e a Esquerda" (3/19/22) https://youtu.be/B_L_V80lXBA Platypus at the New School (NYC) fb: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thenewschoolplatypus New School link with all our activities: https://narwhalnation.newschool.edu/organization/platypus II. U.S. Midterm Election Segment Links: "Anti-fascism in the Age of Trump" panel at UCSC, 11/7/17: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSuN5j3R6go "Perpetual motion machines: A response to Canel, Duhalde, and Horras” DL Jacobs (Platypus Review, September 2022): https://platypus1917.org/2022/09/01/perpetual-motion-machines-a-response-to-canel-duhalde-and-horras/ Anti-fascism in the Philippines: Back to the 1980s (Platypus Review, September 2022): https://platypus1917.org/2022/09/01/anti-fascism-in-the-philippines-back-to-the-1980s/ Articles in Jacobin re: U.S. Midterm Elections - https://jacobin.com/2022/11/krystal-ball-midterms-2022-rust-belt-john-fetterman-democratic-party - https://jacobin.com/2022/11/the-democrats-will-probably-lose-the-midterms-because-our-society-is-falling-apart - https://jacobin.com/2022/11/midterms-2022-progressives-democrats-abortion-student-debt-wages-health-care - https://jacobin.com/2022/11/midterm-elections-2022-progressive-health-care-reform-reproductive-rights

Our 50th anniversary SPS episode comes in two part. First, we cover the on-going cost of living protests organized by the Left in the U.K, Germany and Austria. Co-hosts Lisa and Andreas attended protests in Leipzig and Vienna, where they recorded soundbites and interviews with several leftist activists. Later, they discuss these interviews and the current crisis on the Left with SPS co-host Rebekah and former president of Platypus, Efraim C. -- both based in the U.K. In our Shit Platypus Does segment, Rebekah and Lisa sit down with our members Audrey and David to discuss how Platypus has hosted the conversation on sexual liberation & the Left. For that purpose they all went into our archive, our panel discussions, Platypus Review articles and SPS episodes, which we have created over the 15+ years of the Platypus Affiliated Society. Platypus on “Sex and the Left” Links: “#MeToo and the millennial sex panic”. Platypus Review 111.  November 2018. https://platypus1917.org/2018/11/02/metoo-and-the-millennial-sex-panic/ “Transgender liberation? A movement whose time has passed” . Platypus Review 111. November 2018. https://platypus1917.org/2018/11/02/transgender-liberation-a-movement-whose-time-has-passed/ “Which Way Forward for Sexual Liberation?” Teach-in at  The People's Forum in New York City. June 2022 https://youtu.be/ATCE8FQfTC4 “Sexual Freedom in Capital” Platypus Review 133. February 2021 https://platypus1917.org/2021/02/01/sexual-freedom-in-capital/ “Women the Longest Revolution (Frankfurt)” Panel transcription. Platypus Review 84. March 2016 https://platypus1917.org/2016/03/07/women-longest-revolution-frankfurt/

In the first segment, our European Correspondent, Andreas W. interviews Emanuel Rota, a leftist historian from Italy who published extensively on the history of the Italian Communist party. He currently lives in the US and is the director of the European Union Center at the University of Illinois. They discuss the aftermath of the "Long '68" in Italy, the current crisis of the Italian government as well as the impact and outlook of the Millennial Left during the crisis of neoliberalism. The second segment highlight our members in Platypus New Zealand, a new chapter which offers reading groups and coffee breaks at the University of Otago. Platypus member, Michael McClelland (Otago), together with Ryan Mickler (Melbourne), both sit down with Tom Roud, the founder of Canterbury Socialist Society -- a local branch of the newly-developed New Zealand Federation of Socialist Societies. They discuss the socialist William Morris, the role of fraternal, non-sectarian organizations on the Left, exploring how the Federation aims to offer a new type of organization for the New Zealand Left. For more information on the New Zealand chapter of Platypus, email pas1917newzealand@gmail.com. Links - Socialist Society Website – https://www.socialistsocieties.org.nz/ - Victor Billot on the anti-mandate protests: https://www.newsroom.co.nz/protest-2022-a-great-variety-of-morbid-symptoms - Lecture on William Morris by the New Zealand Federation of Socialist Societies https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tt_6m3p24Bo&t=1503s - Michael McClelland's article in the Platypus Review https://platypus1917.org/2022/05/04/what-is-a-right-wing-protest-anyway-on-the-new-zealand-freedom-convoy-protests/

This is a stand alone SPS segment to promote and introduce our fifth Platypus European Conference in Vienna, from 8 - 10 September, 2022. Lisa and Rebekah interview the lead organizers of the conference, Victor and Andreas. They talk about the different events of the conference and how they relate to its title "The Crisis of Society and the Left" as well as to our current historical moment of the death of the left. Here you can find all the information about the conference, the different events and how to participate: https://platypus1917.org/2022/06/08/platypus-european-conference-2022/ SPS is hosted by Pamela and Andreas, with original tracks by Tamas Vilaghy, and editing assistance by Michael Woodson and Tamas Vilaghy. Our Sh-t Platypus Does team is Lisa M. and Rebekah P. To learn more about Platypus, go to platypus1917.org

On this episode of SPS, our resident financial guru sits down with Pamela to discuss the so-called Great Resignation, or “Big Quit”. They take up the concerns over birth rates & mental illness, as well as how social democratic policies naturalize the crisis of capital. In the second half of the episode, Pamela interviews Andy Gittlitz, cohost of the Antifada podcast and author of I Want to Believe: Posadism, UFOs and Apocalypse Communism. They discuss the trajectory of the millennial left, from the anti-war movement, through Occupy to BLM; and the obstacles to building an independent political party on the left. Links: Erin Hagood on Antifada Podcast (March 16, 2022) - https://fans.fm/p/21V7vzkhttps://fans.fm/p/21V7vzk
 Crisis in Ukraine, Platypus NYC - https://youtu.be/Uyoe5ml05LQ Chris Cutrone, "Dogmatization and Thought Taboos on the Left" in sublationmag.com (July 1, 2022) - https://www.sublationmag.com/post/dogmatization-and-thought-taboos-on-the-left Links from Andy Gittlitz - https://www.sm28.org/articles/on-the-war-in-ukraine-and-the-socioeconomic-struggles-to-come/ - https://www.patreon.com/theantifada - https://www.plutobooks.com/9781786806208/i-want-to-believe/ Conrad Hamilton, "Abortion, Capitalism, and Demographic Control" in sublationmag.com (May 17, 2022) - https://www.sublationmag.com/post/abortion-capitalism-and-demographic-control John D'Emilio, “Capitalism and Gay Identity” from Powers of Desire: The Politics of Sexuality, eds. Ann Snitow, Christine Stansell, Sharon Thompson (New York, 1983) - https://platypus1917.org/wp-content/uploads/readings/demilio_captialismgayid.pdf SPS is hosted by Pamela and Andreas, with original tracks by Tamas Vilaghy, and editing assistance by Michael Woodson and Tamas Vilaghy. Our Sh-t Platypus Does team is Lisa M. and Rebekah P. To learn more about Platypus, go to platypus1917.org

On this episode of SPS, Pamela and Sophia discuss the Depp v. Herd and the exhaustion of #metoo. Andreas and Platypus members, Sebastian Vogel interview Boris Kagarlitsky on the war in Ukraine and the Russian Left. Finally, Lisa and Rebekah sit down with Chris Cutrone to discuss the Platypus Summer Reading Group on classical social theory, titled "What is Society?" The reading group is happening at a Platypus chapter near you, as well as online for those who are unable to join us in person. What is society? https://platypus1917.org/2022/05/17/summer-2022-what-is-society/ Rapkor, a Russian speaking youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYDuWqDwzAFG4xrI5uJEWfw Two articles published in the Platypus Review by Boris Kagarlitsky https://platypus1917.org/2016/09/06/paralysis-will-bernie-sanders-capitulation/ https://platypus1917.org/2016/07/11/afraid-donald-trump/ Two platypus panels with Boris Kagarlitsky: https://platypus1917.org/2015/03/04/25-years-1989/ https://platypus1917.org/2017/03/14/crisis-neoliberalism-platypus-3rd-european-conference-vienna-2017/

In this episode of SPS, Pamela sits down with Platypus member Tana F. to discuss the potential overturning of Roe v. Wade and the responses by the Left, including Marxist Humanist member, Mike Dola, and the Socialist Workers Party's newspaper, The Militant. They talk about what it means to defend constitutional rights absent an independent working class movement and a socialist party. In the second part, Rebekah and Lisa sit down with Clay M. from Chicago, Lucas B. from Frankfurt and Conrad C. from Portland to reflect on the 14th annual platypus convention 2022. We welcome responses to our segments. You can reach us at shitplatypussays@gmail.com, or you can find us on FB, IG, and Twitter @platypussays. Terry Evans, "A working-class course is needed to support our families, women's rights" in The Militant, Vol. 85/No. 48(27 Dec 2021) - https://themilitant.com/2021/12/18/a-working-class-course-is-needed-to-support-our-families-womens-rights/ Alexandra Kollontai, "The Labour of Women in the Evolution of the Economy" 1921 - https://www.marxists.org/archive/kollonta/1921/evolution.htm Platypus International Convention 2022 - Legacy of the 1980s Panel: https://youtu.be/AAeBnqOSO6E - Marxism and Liberalism Panel: https://youtu.be/_V0H26efVY8 - What is leadership for the Left? Panel: https://youtu.be/i_iORUx7sms - Biden, Covid and the Left Panel: https://youtu.be/Pf_oQoqitik - What is Marxism for? Panel: https://youtu.be/Rl5i4orxCAM Platypus Panel: The Anti-War Movement: Past and Present | 6pm Thursday 05/19 -
FB Invite: https://fb.me/e/1uBIT5jX6 Join the UChicago Platypus chapter of the Platypus Affiliated Society for an in-person panel discussion on "The Anti-War Movement: Past and Present" this Thursday, May 19th at 6:00-8:00PM in Kent 120. SPS on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4ftkDeIALI2l8k2A49OVcs on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sps/id1305502112 on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/platypus-affiliated-society SPS is hosted by Sophia F., Pamela N. and Andreas W., with original tracks by Tamas Vilaghy, and editing assistance by Michael Woodson and Tamas Vilaghy. Our Sh-t Platypus Does team is Lisa M. and Rebekah P. To learn more about Platypus, go to platypus1917.org

In the first part of the episode our co-hosts Lisa Müller und Rebekah Parlar sit down with Platypus member Clint Montgomery to talk about our annual international Platypus Convention. Our international Convention, which is sort of the highlight in your platypus calendar, will take place in Chicago from the 31st of March until April the 3rd. In the segment Lisa, Rebekah and Clint talk about why this year's convention will be held under the overarching theme of “Marxism and the ends of liberalism”, what that has to do with the COVID pandemic and what other events will be hosted during the convention. Whether you want to meet Platypus members from all over the world, discuss global trends within the Left and its history or get a sense of meaning of the death of the left for our current moment in history, you should come to Chicago and get yourself a ticket for the convention. Your SPS podcast team will be there as well! For the second part of the episode Lisa and Rebekah talk with the editor in chief of the German Platypus Review, Tobias Rochlitz. - Tobias, Rebekah and Lisa discuss the failure of the New left with articles on Hans-Jürgen Krahl and the 1968s movement; an Interview with Wolf Wetzel on the disintegration of the autonomous movement in the 1970s and the response from Michael Fischer to an article from our Member Max Hörügel on the Failure of the early Anti-Deutsch current within the Left. +2022 Platypus International Convention >The official website of the convention: https://platypus1917.org/platypus-international-convention/2022_/ +Mentioned in he German Platypus Review segment >Platypus panel on “Corona und die Linke”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cynozxmZQsg&t=157s >Platypus teach-in on "The Millennial Left is dead": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkR-aSK60U8 >Platypus panel on "Die Krise des Neoliberalismus": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sADJlRLGCqY >Ep. 43: On the Freedom Convoy, the Austrian Communist Party (KPÖ) & 2021 Platypus Highlights: https://platypus1917.org/2022/02/14/ep-43-on-the-freedom-convoy-the-austrian-communist-party-kpo-2021-platypus-highlights/ >Lenin - What is to be done: https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1901/witbd/

On this two-part episode of SPS, Pamela sits with Leila Mechoi, the co-host of Red Star Radio podcast. They reflect on the Left's reaction to the late trucker protest in Canada, and discuss the role of civil liberties in the organization of the working class, as well as what sort of missed political opportunity -- if any -- did the protest present. In the second part of the episode, Andreas and Berlin-based Platypus member, Tamas talked to Peter and Noemi, both members of Szikra, a leftist group in Hungary founded in 2019. They discuss the situation of the Hungarian Left with regards to developments within the international left over the past decade, as well as the next Hungarian parliamentary election in April of this year. They also take up the deeper history of the Left in Hungary and specific political challenges in the "post-socialist "countries of Eastern Europe today. Links for Leila Mechoui interview - Red Star Radio podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/red-star-radio/id1516544636 - https://www.patreon.com/red_star_radio - https://themilitant.com/2022/02/12/truckers-in-ontario-show-road-to-fight-boss-attacks/ - Simon Clarke, The State Debate (Basingstoke: Palgrave 1991). This work and other his works can be found here: https://cooltexts.github.io/  Links for Szikra interview - Szikra's "about us": https://www.szikramozgalom.hu/about_us - Nora Schultz (Szikra member)in Merce (the leftist online newspaper that is mentioned during the interview): https://merce.hu/2019/09/20/a-szabad-varos-baloldali-es-zold/ - An interview with Nora Schultz by Noemi Lehoczki: https://merce.hu/2020/11/21/politikai-kepviseletet-szerezni-a-baloldalnak-interju-a-szikra-mozgalommal/ SPS is hosted by Sophia F., Pamela N. and Andreas W., with original tracks by Tamas Vilaghy, and editing assistance by Michael Woodson and Tamas Vilaghy. Our Sh-t Platypus Does team is Lisa M. and Rebekah P. To learn more about Platypus, go to platypus1917.org/.

On this episode, Pamela sits down with our Toronto member Cam Hardy to discuss Canada's "Freedom Convoy", and the responses by the "Left". They investigate Jacobin's hot take on the "inauthentic" working-class character of the protests, and the call by the Canadian Communist Party to criminalize the convoy. In the second segment, Andreas interviews Amir Sturm, a member of the Austrian Communist Party (KPÖ). Andreas asks about the current state of the KPÖ, its history & political self-understanding and the relationship between the KPÖ and Junge Linke, an Austrian leftist youth organization. Finally, our Shit Platypus Does team, Rebekah and Lisa, chat with our members Ryan, Daniel, and Phedias about how Platypus has engaged the Left over the Legacy of Occupy, the meaning of Capitalism, and the politics of COVID-19 in our panel events in 2021. + The Left on the "Freedom Convoy" > Jacobin https://jacobinmag.com/2022/02/canada-freedom-convoy-conservative-right-wing-anti-worker-anti-vaccine https://jacobinmag.com/2022/02/freedom-trucker-convoy-far-right-trudeau-vaccines-covid > Communist Party of Canada https://communist-party.ca/freedom-convoy-a-dangerous-movement-for-the-working-class-but-useful-for-the-ruling-class/ > The Communist League https://themilitant.com/2022/02/12/truckers-in-ontario-show-road-to-fight-boss-attacks/ +KPÖ Segment Links >Platypus Interview with Tobias Schweiger https://platypus1917.org/2021/12/20/interview_kpoe_schweiger/ > Platypus panel on the KPÖ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayjLSqH3YWU&t=2s&ab_channel=PlatypusAffiliatedSociety > Jacobin article about the election in Graz, September 2021: https://jacobinmag.com/2021/09/communist-party-of-austria-kpo-graz-election-victory-red-fortress >Links to websites of KPÖ and Junge Linke https://www.kpoe.at/?playlist=17a123d&video=2bd4121 https://www.jungelinke.at/ + Mentioned in our Shit Platypus Does segment > What is capitalism and why should we be against it? - Panel Melbourne https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ii8nVnWeUu0&t=174s or in the PR What is capitalism, and why should we be against it? https://platypus1917.org/2021/09/01/what-is-capitalism-and-why-should-we-be-against-it-2/ > From Protest to Politics? What was the Millennial Left? - Panel https://youtu.be/NDB0LyeQiU4 > Giving voice to Occupy: An interview with John Leveille https://platypus1917.org/2021/03/01/giving-voice-to-occupy-an-interview-with-john-leveille/ > What was Occupy? Ten years later - Panel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5-4GyAgwFw&t=146s > D.L. Jacobs, What was the Millennial Left? https://platypus1917.org/2021/06/01/what-was-the-millennial-left/ > The Millennial Left and the Democratic Party: A response to D. L. Jacobs https://platypus1917.org/2021/10/01/the-millennial-left-and-the-democratic-party-a-response-to-d-l-jacobs/ > Pam N., Platypus at #Occupy: Lessons learned from the death of the Millennial Left https://platypus1917.org/2021/06/01/platypus-at-occupy/ > Coronavirus and the Left - Panel Melbourne https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqeIcDT7ys4 > SPS interview with Sue Bolton on Aussie Protests against the Vaccine Mandate https://platypus1917.org/2021/12/05/ep-41-on-rittenhouse-aussie-protests-against-the-vaccine-mandate/ > Anti-fascism in the Age of Trump 2017 - Panel Houston https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eaRuXRqP9c > Hegel and the Left 2020 - Panel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0Pjhv7kDF0 > Corona und die Linke - Panel Germany https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cynozxmZQsg > Police Brutality and the Left - Panel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwf1_df6FiA

In this special Xmas edition of SPS, your new hosts of the "Sh-t Platypus Does" segment, Rebekah and Lisa, chat with the Platypus Review Editor-in-Chief, Lou, about the new issue, PR #142 -- including articles: "What can one learn from the Right?" by D.L. Jacobs, "The Left is not a concept" by Benedict Cryptofash, "We are the city-building tendency" by Caleb T. Maupin and "Paths to Marxism" by Chris Cutrone. New Issue, PR #142 https://platypus1917.org/platypus-review/ Leszek Kolakowski "The Concept of the Left" (1968) https://platypus1917.org/wp-content/uploads/readings/kolakowskileszek_conceptleft1968.pdf The Marxist hypothesis: A response to Alain Badiou's "communist hypothesis" by Chris Cutrone, in the Platypus Review #29 (November 2010) https://platypus1917.org/2010/11/06/the-marxist-hypothesis-a-response-to-alain-badous-communist-hypothesis/

On this episode of SPS, Sophia and Pamela sit down with Spencer L., founding member of Platypus and historian of imperialism, to discuss the Rittenhouse trial and the “Left's” response. They clear up the confusion around the Second Amendment among todays leftists, address the anti-racism of progressive liberals, and take up responses by Daniel Lazare (Weekly Worker) and the Bolshevik Tendency. In the second part of the episode, Andreas W. and Platypus Melbourne member, Ryan M., interview Sue Bolton (Socialist Alliance) on the protests against the Australian vaccine mandate, including the September attack on the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) offices. Union leadership was under attack by union members for their complicity with state measures, which prevented a return to work without vaccination. Andreas and Ryan ask, how should the left respond? Are these protests simply cannon fodder for the right? How should socialists understand this discontent in civil society? SEGMENT I Links >The “Left” on Rittenhouse Daniel Lazare, “Rittenhouse and White Backlash” in the Weekly Worker, issue 1373 (25 November 2021) https://weeklyworker.co.uk/worker/1373/rittenhouse-and-white-backlash/ “...The idea that good guys need guns to defend themselves against bad guys is asinine, since it is often far from clear in a shootout which is which. It is a determination that cannot be made individually on the spur of the moment, but can only be made deliberately and collectively, which is why democracy requires judges, courts and other such apparatus.” Milwaukee DSA Statement on Rittenhouse Verdict, (22 November 2021) https://milwaukee.dsawi.org/milwaukee-dsa-statement-on-rittenhouse-verdict/ “It is no coincidence that Rittenhouse wants to be a police officer when he grows up. The US injustice system was developed to enshrine white supremacy at the expense of those who work to undo it. As those in power continue to build upon the fascist foundations of our nation, it becomes ever-clearer that abolition of police and the carceral state at large is the only path forward.” Bolshevik Tendency, “Killer Rittenhouse Goes Free—Fascists Celebrate” https://bolsheviktendency.org/2021/11/27/killer-rittenhouse-goes-free-fascists-celebrate/ “Decent people do not recognize the “right” of fascists and their various ultra-rightist friends and associates to mobilize—nor do we recognize their right to “defend” themselves against attempts to disarm them, which is what Rittenhouse's victims were seeking to do. While the latter's tactics were obviously seriously deficient, their intent was commendable.” >Education on Liberalism & Constitutional Rights Ira Glasser, Free Speech and the ACLU, an interview by Glenn Greenwald https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGI4fc_VB7c Platypus Public Fora Series: The Second Amendment and the Left Platypus Review 110 (October 2018): https://platypus1917.org/2018/10/01/the-second-amendment-and-the-left/ June 9, 2018, University of Houston: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaaAqAm6oAw SEGMENT II Links Sue Bolton's article in Green Left, Socialist Alliance's publication: https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/behind-attack-cfmeu-office The other Green Left article Andreas quotes, by Dave Kellaway: https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/italy-fascists-attack-biggest-trade-union-confederation Socialist Alliance's website: https://socialist-alliance.org/ Hosted by Sophia F., Pamela N. and Andreas W., with original tracks by Tamas Vilaghy, and editing assistance by Michael Woodson and Tamas Vilaghy. To learn more about Platypus, go to https://platypus1917.org/.

For this episode of SPS, Sophia and Pamela take up Dave Chappelle's latest Netflix special, "The Closer," and the blowback following its release. For the main segment, Sophia catches up with the makers behind the Aufhebunga Bunga pod, Alex Hochuli and George Hoare, to discuss their new book, The End of the End of History: Politics in the Twenty-First Century. She asks about their characterization of "anti-politics," how they understood the Trump & Brexit moment, and the importance of Hegel for the Left today. Hochuli is a writer and translator living in Sao Paolo, Brazil, and Hoare is a researcher and political consultant in London. Aufhebunga Bunga podcast https://bungacast.com/ The End of the End of History (Zero Books, 2021) https://www.amazon.com/End-History-Politics-Twenty-First-Century/dp/1789045231 Links to SPS episodes with Aufhebunga Bunga boys: [Ep 23] Convo w/ Philip Cunliffe in London for a post-panel reflection on our "After the Election" panel at the London School of Economics https://soundcloud.com/platypus-affiliated-society/ep23 [Ep 10] A conversation with Alex Hochuli on Brazil's 2018 presidential elections. https://soundcloud.com/platypus-affiliated-society/ep10 [Ep 02] Why should anyone care about 1917? A Conversation on Philip Cunliffe's Lenin Lives!: Reimagining the Russian Revolution 1917-2017 (2017) https://soundcloud.com/platypus-affiliated-society/ep-2 James Heartfield, The 'Death of the Subject' Explained (2006) https://www.amazon.com/Death-Subject-Explained-James-Heartfield/dp/141964436X Platypus Panel, "Bonapartism: How is the State Revolutionary?" (PAS International Convention 2020) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zsx6V5DCGUo Chris Cutrone, "Rousseau, Kant and Hegel" Platypus Review 61 (2013) https://platypus1917.org/2013/11/01/rousseau-kant-hegel/ Hosted by Sophia F., Pamela N. and Andreas W., with original tracks by Tamas Vilaghy & Louis Sterrett, and editing assistance by Michael Woodson and Tamas Vilaghy. To learn more about Platypus, go to Platypus1917.org.

On this episode of SPS, Pamela and the Platypus Review Editor-in-Chief, Lou S. chat about the recent NBA crack-up over vaccine skepticism and discuss the articles in the new issue of the Platypus Review. Andreas, our EU correspondent, reports from the frontlines of a protest camp in the North East of Vienna. And, in the last segment, Andreas sits with our German members, Tobias, Tom and Anna, to reflect on the recent Bundestag election. They discuss the past and future of Die Linke, the upset by the Greens & the collapse of the left/right distinction within the Green Party, and the future of a post-Merkel, post-Neo-liberalism Germany. Latest Issue of the Platypus Review: - platypus1917.org/platypus-review/ SPS on the DSA: - soundcloud.com/platypus-affiliated-society/ep22 - soundcloud.com/platypus-affiliated-society/ep8 - and on the DSA & Seth Ackerman: soundcloud.com/platypus-affiliated-society/ep3 Platypus Panels: - Panel Series “What does Climate Change?": platypus1917.org/international-series/what-does-climate-change/ - Die Linke Panel (in German): platypus1917.org/2021/06/02/podium-linkspartei/ - Greens Panel (in German): platypus1917.org/panel-gruene/ Platypus on the Death of the Millennial Left: - Chris Cutrone article from 2017, platypus1917.org/2017/10/01/millennial-left-dead/ - Public Panel on “What was the Millennial Left?" during the Platypus 2021 International Convention: tinyurl.com/5a5uktsf - Chris Cutrone teach-in on the death of the millennial left from 2018: tinyurl.com/3sftxpfn Hosted by Sophia F., Pamela N. and Andreas W., with original tracks by Tamas Vilaghy, and editing assistance by Michael Woodson and Tamas Vilaghy. To learn more about Platypus, go to Platypus1917.org.

On this episode of SPS, Pamela and Sophia discuss the Biden bungle of the Afghanistan withdrawal and the responses by the “Left,” including Tariq Ali for the New Left Review and Branko Marcetic for Jacobin. SPS European Correspondent Andreas interviews Eduardo Maura, from the Spanish party Podemos, and asks him to reflect on his political trajectory, from his work in the Indignados -- the Spanish anti-austerity movement -- to Podemos in government, to the party's recent electoral defeats. In the last segment, Platypus president Efraim interviews Mike Watson, a UK born art & media theorist, and author of The Memeing of Mark Fisher: How the Frankfurt School Foresaw Capitalist Realism and What To Do About It, released by Zero Books in 2021. They discuss the different responses to the New Left by Adorno and Marcuse and the conditions of possibility for political consciousness in an administered society. Links: Chris Cutrone, “Afghanistan: After 20 and 40 years” in Platypus Review 139 (September 2021) https://platypus1917.org/2021/09/02/afghanistan-after-20-and-40-years/ Tariq Ali, “Debacle in Afghanistan” New Left Review: Sidecar (16 August 2021) https://newleftreview.org/sidecar/posts/debacle-in-afghanistan Branko Marcetic, “Joe Biden Was Right to Pull Out of Afghanistan” Jacobin (24 August 2021) https://jacobin-v2.positiondevapp.com/2021/08/joe-biden-afghanistan-taliban-us-military-foreign-policy-pullout Tariq Ali Interviewed by Chris Cutrone, on Iraq, the anti-war movement, and the state of the Left conducted on October 15, 2007 at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. https://platypus1917.org/2007/10/15/tariq-ali-interviewed-by-chris-cutrone/ “Imperialism: What is it—Why should we be Against it?” On January 30th, 2007, Platypus hosted its first public forum. It features Adam Turl of the International Socialist Organization (ISO), Kevin Anderson of the Marxist-Humanist group News and Letters, Nick Kreitman of the new Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), Danny Postel of Open Democracy, and Chris Cutrone of Platypus. https://platypus1917.org/2010/07/09/imperialism-what-is-it-why-should-we-be-against-it/ “¿Más allá de la izquierda y la derecha? (Beyond left and right?): An Interview with Eduardo Maura of Podemos” by Lucy Parker and David Mountain with Nikos Manousakis in Platypus Review 72 (December 2014 – January 2015) https://platypus1917.org/2014/12/01/mas-alla-de-la-izquierda-y-la-derecha/ Mike Watson, The Memeing Of Mark Fisher: How The Frankfurt School Foresaw Capitalist Realism And What To Do About It (2021) https://www.johnhuntpublishing.com/zer0-books/our-books/memeing-mark-fisher Efraim Carlebach, “Forgetting Mark Fisher” in Platypus Review 115 (April 2019) https://platypus1917.org/2019/04/01/forgetting-mark-fisher/ Hosted by Sophia F., Pamela N. and Andreas W., with original tracks by Tamas Vilaghy, and editing assistance by Michael Woodson. To learn more about Platypus, go to Platypus1917.org.

On this three-part episode of SPS, Sophia and the Editor of the Platypus Review, Lou Sterrett, give a teaser of what's inside the latest issue. In the second segment, our European Correspondent Andreas Wintersperger catches up with Ian Cassidy. Originally from Ireland, Cassidy is a Berlin-based activist, working for the campaign 'Deutsche Wohnen & co enteignen' which aims to pressure Berlin's largest private housing companies to better serve their tenants. In the final segment, SPS co-host Pamela sits down with Victor and Sidsel, our members in Aarhus, to discuss the recent debates over academic freedom in Danish universities in response to the parliament in Denmark accusing researchers of “excessive activism”. LINKS: Platypus Review Issue 138, July 2021 https://platypus1917.org/platypus-review/ Platypus in Aarhus, Denmark https://www.facebook.com/groups/2026045940750202 Chris Cutrone, The end of the Gilded Age: Discontents of the Second Industrial Revolution today, December 2017, https://platypus1917.org/2017/12/02/end-gilded-age-discontents-second-industrial-revolution-today/ Chris Cutrone, On philosophy and Marxism: response to Suther and Velissaris, 2020, https://platypus1917.org/2020/11/01/on-philosophy-and-marxism-response-to-suther-and-velissaris/ Jensen Suther and Thodoris Velissaris, Response to Cutrone, November 2020, https://platypus1917.org/2020/11/01/response-to-cutrone/ Panel Discussion in German, “Die Wohnungsfrage und die Linke”, July 2021: https://tinyurl.com/6c48vje Deutsche Wohnen & co enteignen Campaign https://www.dwenteignen.de/ Petition In Solidarity with Danish Researches, June 2021, https://atgender.eu/academic-freedom-in-denmark-open-letter-2-june-2021/ Ludvig Goldschmidt Pedersen, The Academic Culture War Comes to Denmark, June 2021, https://www.jacobinmag.com/2021/06/denmark-parliament-motion-research-fields-academic-freedom-feminism-postcolonial-migration-race-studies

On this three-part episode of SPS, Sophia and Pamela catch up to discuss Shaka King's Judas and the Black Messiah (2021). They reflect upon the director's interpretation of the Black Panther Party and how questions of black nationalism, the police and the authoritarian state bear on our present moment. In the second segment Sophia sits down with Novara Media's Commissioning Editor, Rivka Brown to consider the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill (PCSC Bill) and the anti-austerity Left. Rivkah touches on what the potential abolition of the police might mean for the ‘Left'. Finally, Platypus' Chief Pedagogue, Chris Cutrone, introduces our Summer Reading Groups and gives a taster of what's in-store. You can find our more about our Summer Reading Groups here: Summer Reading Group 2021: Adorno's Negative Dialectics https://platypus1917.org/2021/05/08/summer-2021-adornos-negative-dialectics/ Summer Reading Group 2021: Hegel and Marxism https://platypus1917.org/2021/05/11/summer-2021-hegel-and-marxism/ Summer Reading Group 2021: The Black Question and the Left from 1776 to BLM https://platypus1917.org/2021/05/21/summer-2021-the-black-question-from-1776-to-blm/ Resources and Reference Links: Online: Novara Media, https://novaramedia.com/ Rivkah's Links: Book: Adam Elliott-Cooper, Black Resistance to British Policing, 2021 Book: Mark Neocleous, A Critical Theory of Police Power: The Fabrication of the Social Order, 2000 Platypus Links: Article: Chris Cutrone, Republicans and riots: The Left in death, 1992 and 2020, https://platypus1917.org/2020/07/01/republicans-and-riots/ Interview: with Bobby Seale (Black Panther Party), 2019 https://platypus1917.org/2019/02/03/the-black-panther-party-and-community-organizing-an-interview-with-bobby-seale%EF%BB%BF/ Interview: with Kathleen Cleaver (Black Panther Party), 2019 https://platypus1917.org/2019/02/03/the-black-panther-party-malcom-x-and-the-question-of-revolutionary-politics-today-an-interview-with-kathleen-cleaver/ Panel: Police Brutality and the Left (July 11, 2020) Panelists: Gerald Smith (Oscar Grant Committee), Larry Holmes (Workers World Party), Andrea Pritchett (Berkeley Copwatch), and Conrad Cartmell (DSA, Class Unity Caucus). https://platypus1917.org/2020/09/01/police-brutality-and-the-left/ Panel: Platypus at Left Forum NYC 2010: The American Left and the "black question:" from politics to protest to the post-political (2010) [Audio] Panelists: Tim Barker, Columbia U.; Benjamin Blumberg, Platypus; Pamela Nogales, Platypus; Chris Cutrone, Platypus. https://archive.org/details/PlatypusAtLeftForumNyc2010TheAmericanLeftAndTheblackQuestion Panel: Platypus Public Panel Series: “Black Politics and State Violence” (2015) University of Chicago (03/20/15) [Audio]Panelists: Michael Dawson and Mel Rothenberg, https://platypus1917.org/2015/05/22/5-21-2015-black-politics-and-state-violence-a-panel-discussion-university-of-chicago/ Panel: Platypus Public Panel: “The American left and the ‘Black Question': From politics to protest to the post-political” (Chicago, 2015) Panelists: Toby Chow, Southsiders Organized for Unity and Liberation (SOUL) and The People's Lobby; Brandon Johnson, Chicago Teachers Union (CTU); August Nimtz, author of Lenin's Electoral Strategy from 1907 to the October Revolution of 1917 (2014) https://platypus1917.org/2015/05/02/american-left-black-question-politics-protest-post-political/ Hosted by Sophia F., Pamela N. and Andreas W., with original tracks by Tamas Vilaghy, and editing assistance by Michael Woodson.

On this episode of SPS, Sophia, Pamela and Platypus member Erin report on the Kill the Bill & May 1st protests in London, Berlin and New York. In the second half members Ryan and Sam reflect upon seeding a Platypus chapter in Melbourne Australia. We discuss encounters with local Leftist groups, what Adam Smith has to teach us about bourgeois society, and their upcoming panel discussion: "What is Capitalism and why should we be against it?" To learn more about Platypus in Melbourne, drop by one of their reading group meetings either on Wednesdays online via zoom, or in-person starting next semester at the University of Melbourne. Their coffee breaks are at the Clyde Hotel every second Thursday. The upcoming panel event: "What is Capitalism, and why should we be against it?" is on Saturday the 22nd of May. FB invite: https://www.facebook.com/events/1138149399985555 Reference Links: Platypus Panel: "Corona und die Linke" (in German) https://youtu.be/cynozxmZQsg Chris Cutrone, The Millennial Left is dead, October 2017 https://platypus1917.org/2017/10/01/millennial-left-dead/ Spencer Leonard, Zero Squared 207: Adam Smith-Revolutionary, July 2019 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cApVoE_A-JM Hosted by Sophia F., Pamela N and Andreas W, with original tracks by Tamas Vilaghy, and editing assistance by Michael Woodson. Cover photograph by Piotr Pietrus (@piotr.pietrus on Instagram).

On this episode of SPS, Sophia, Pamela and Andreas are joined by Aarhus Platypus member, Victor Cova, to discuss the Adam Curtis documentary series, "Can't Get You Out of My Head: An Emotional History of the Modern World" (2021). We cover the response to the series by the Socialist Workers Party (UK), Doug Lain (Zero Books) and Red Scare podcast. We debate Curtis' conservative approach to history, and what the series has to say about the defeat of the left in the twentieth century. At the beginning of the episode, Grant Tyler introduces the upcoming Platypus International Convention XIII: The Platypus Synthesis, featuring panels: From Protests to Politics? What was the Millennial Left?; The Legacy of Trotskyism; The Politics of Critical Theory; and the Death of the Millennial Left. All events will be held online: FB invite, https://www.facebook.com/events/301295494749910 https://platypus1917.org/platypus-international-convention/platypus-international-convention-2021/ Reference Links: Tribune: An interview with Leo Panitch, A Decade on the Left https://tribunemag.co.uk/2020/03/a-decade-on-the-left Jacobin: Mike Watson, In Defense of Herbert Marcuse https://www.jacobinmag.com/2021/02/herbert-marcuse-matt-taibbi-frankfurt-school Socialist Worker: Adam Curtis mixes stunning images with dodgy politics https://socialistworker.co.uk/art/51349/Adam+Curtis+mixes+stunning+images+with+dodgy+politics Doug Lain (Zero Books): The secret (and not so secret) conservatism of Adam Curtis https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76StMC0l7kU&ab_channel=ZeroBooks Jacobin, Interview with Adam Curtis https://jacobinmag.com/2021/03/adam-curtis-bbc-cant-get-you-out-of-my-head-interview Building A Better Society: Have we run out of new ideas? | Adam Curtis & Russell Brand https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aN7UCUDzXGA&t=1s Art Review: The Reverse Marxism of Adam Curtis’s ‘Can’t Get You Out Of My Head’ https://artreview.com/the-reverse-marxism-of-adam-curtis-cant-get-you-out-of-my-head-bbc-iplayer-review/ Platypus Links: 2019 Interview with Bobby Seale (Black Panther Party) https://platypus1917.org/2019/02/03/the-black-panther-party-and-community-organizing-an-interview-with-bobby-seale%EF%BB%BF/ 2019 Interview with Kathleen Cleaver (BPP) https://platypus1917.org/2019/02/03/the-black-panther-party-malcom-x-and-the-question-of-revolutionary-politics-today-an-interview-with-kathleen-cleaver/ 2012 Interview with David Graeber https://platypus1917.org/2012/01/31/interview-with-david-graeber/ David Graeber on "Radical Interpretations of the Present Crisis," Platypus public fora in London, 12.01.2012 https://platypus1917.org/2013/04/01/radical-interpretations-of-the-present-crisis-london-platypus-review/ Hosted by Sophia F., Pamela N and Andreas W., with original tracks by Tamas Vilaghy, and editing assistance by Michael Woodson.

Sophia and Pamela talk about the allegations that Governor Cuomo covered up mishandlings of the COVID-19 crisis and the firing of actress Gina Carano from Disney’s the Mandalorian. In the last segment our German correspondent Andreas Wintersperger catches up with Platypus members from our Leipzig and Berlin chapters to discuss the panels on COVID-19 and the Left, and the legacy of the Communist Party of Germany which were held at our 2nd German Conference. SPS is a production of the Platypus Affiliated Society, more at: platypus1917.org/ Links for this episode: Platypus German Conference recordings Corona und die Linke: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cynozxmZQsg Psychoanalyse und Marxismus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNsU1xVWEsQ&t=5s Was ist das Erbe der KPD?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhCDIwJtaaY&t=13s US-Wahlen und die Linke: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykLrCoKWzJc Zero Covid Campaign article https://zero-covid.org/language/en/ Gina Carano, The Ben Shapiro Show, 21st Feb 2021 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxObG659Sc0 Former President Trump speaks at CPAC, Fox News, 28th Feb 2021 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGDmMu9McBE Andrew Cuomo faces move by fellow Democrats to revoke his COVID-19 pandemic powers, The Wall Street Journal, Jimmy Vielkind, 2nd March 2021 https://www.wsj.com/articles/gov-andrew-cuomo-faces-growing-calls-from-new-york-democrats-to-resign-11614703042 Andrew Cuomo accused of making unwanted advances at wedding, New York Post, Elizabeth Rosner and Tamar Lapin, 1st March 2021 https://nypost.com/2021/03/01/gov-cuomo-accused-of-making-unwanted-advances-at-wedding/amp/?fbclid=IwAR3lm_8_WJYSNScBOpPWwVd2X-qXlcnQiNT83qK2qRb_MdV0aVz0uJesjZk Original tracks by Tamas Vilaghy Hosted by Sophia F. and Pamela N.

In this special episode of SPS, we discuss Joe Biden's inauguration and the relationship between Art and the capitalist state. Professional creative artists are facing unemployment at rates well above the national average. We take up the proposals for WPA-style intervention, a Ministry of Culture, and a White House Office for Culture. In the second half, we consider the artist Brad Troemel and his attempt to reinterpret “Liberal Cringe” into meme art. Images and videos for this episode can be found at: https://caesuramag.org/montezsps01292021 SPS is a production of the Platypus Affiliated Society, more at: https://platypus1917.org/ Links for this episode: Alison Hewitt Ward, 2010, RIP Art Trump https://caesuramag.org/posts/rip-trump-art Letter of resignation from the President's Committee on the Arts & the Humanities (2017) https://twitter.com/kalpenn/status/898547257062174724/photo/1 Chris Cutrone, 2010, What was postmodernism? -- Habermas’s critique An incomplete project? Art and politics after postmodernism http://chriscutrone.platypus1917.org/?p=955 Platypus Art & Politics syllabus https://platypus1917.org/2020/06/17/art-and-politics/ Brad Troemel, Patreon https://www.patreon.com/bst Barbra Kruger’s Selfridges campaign in London with Behance, https://www.behance.net/gallery/58329969/Selfridges-Co-Sale-campaign Ryan Long, 2020, When Wokes and Racists Actually Agree on Everything https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ev373c7wSRg Jason Farago, "The Arts Are in Crisis. Here’s How Biden Can Help," New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/13/arts/design/arts-stimulus-biden.html Susan Buck-Morss, response to Visual culture questionnaire (1996) https://platypus1917.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/buckmorss_visualcultquest.pdf Efraim Carlebach, “Forgetting Mark Fisher” Platypus Review 115 (April 2019) https://platypus1917.org/2019/04/01/forgetting-mark-fisher/ Original tracks by Tamas Vilaghy Hosted by Sophia F. and Pamela N.

In the latest episode of the cancel culture saga, social media companies have taken into their own hands to censor content. Trump’s Tweets, Zero Book’s Videos, & Brad Troemel’s memes, have all been subject to the policing eye of so-called “fact checkers.” In the first part of this episode, Laurie joins Pamela to discuss the new wave of censorship under our Silicon Valley dystopia and the realignment of liberals in the Age of Trump. In the second part of the episode, we focus on how the German-speaking Left has responded to the recent terror attacks in France and Austria. Our European Correspondent, Andreas, joins Sophia and Pamela to discuss the responses by the anti-imperialist left, featuring Die Funke, the Austrian faction of the International Marxist Tendency (IMT) and Marx 21 in Germany. Second, Andreas interviews Michael Fischer, an Austrian anti-fascist and recent contributor to the anti-German publication Bahamas. Fischer present his critique of political islam and his thoughts on the anti-imperialist left today. Finally, Frankfurt Platypus member, Jan Schroeder joins us to reflect on the trajectory of the anti-German Left, from its origins through its opposition to the Balkan Wars and support for American intervention in the Gulf, and their present iteration as defenders of “class politics”. Links: Brad Troemel’s Biden-Clinton meme https://www.instagram.com/p/CI3pSqUBevY/ Glenn Greewald, “Instagram is Using False “Fact-Checking” to Protect Joe Biden’s Crime Record From Criticisms” (December 2020) https://greenwald.substack.com/p/instagram-is-using-false-fact-checking Pamela C. Nogales C., “The Cancel Wars: The Legacy of the Cultural Turn in the Age of Trump” (Platypus Review, November 2020) https://platypus1917.org/2020/11/01/the-cancel-wars-the-legacy-of-the-cultural-turn-in-the-age-of-trump/ Laurie Rojas, “The Culture Wars in the Age of Trump” (Platypus Review, November 2020) https://platypus1917.org/2020/11/01/the-culture-wars-in-the-age-of-trump/ Der Funke, “Wien: Gegen Terror und nationale Einheit” (November 2020) https://derfunke.at/aktuelles/oesterreich/11526-wien-gegen-terror-und-nationale-einheit Marx 21, “Frankreich: Muslime unter Generalverdacht” (November 2020) https://www.marx21.de/frankreich-muslime-unter-generalverdacht/ Efraim Carlbach, “The Unchanging Core of Marxism: Interview with Ian Birchall” (Platypus Review, December 2017 – January 2018) https://platypus1917.org/2017/12/02/unchanging-core-marxism-interview-ian-birchall/ Spartacist League, “For Workers Revolution in Iran: Down with the Shah! Don’t Bow to Khomeini” (Workers’ Vanguard, December 1978) https://www.marxists.org/history/etol/newspape/workersvanguard/1978/0221_15_12_1978.pdf Michael Fischer, “Die neue Rassenlehre: Moderne Rassenideologie im antirassistischen Gewand” (Bahamas 85 / 2020) http://redaktion-bahamas.org/artikel/2020/85-die-neue-rassenlehre/ Jan Schroeder, “Althusser’s Marxism” (July–August 2019) https://platypus1917.org/2019/07/02/althussers-marxism/ Jan Gerber, panelist on the “Crisis Of Neoliberalism” panel at the Platypus German Conference (January 2020) (in German) https://archive.org/details/25.01crisisofneoliberalism/25.01+Crisis+of+Neoliberalism.mp3 SPS Reflections on the 2020 German Conference can be found here: https://soundcloud.com/platypus-affiliated-society/ep22 Hosted by Pamela N., Sophia F. with European Correspondent, Andreas W. music by Tamas Vilaghy

***U.S. election special*** On this episode Pamela and Sophia catch up with Conrad Cartmell (Class Unity caucus, DSA), Mara Henao & Kaitlin Buck (Philly Socialists) and Benjamin Studebaker (British Academic Union) to reflect upon the Left under Trump - and what lies ahead under a Biden administration. This episode contributes to a larger body of work by the Platypus Affiliated Society, attempting to make sense of the Left’s reaction to the changing political reality. A panel event, with a similar topic was recently held at George Mason University(1). Be sure to follow us on social media. On Instagram were ‘shitplatypussays’, and on Twitter: ‘platypussays’. Visit us on Facebook under the Platypus Affiliated Society or visit www.platypus1917.org. If you like the podcast, share it, rate it, and write us a review! (1) Platypus Panel, held at George Mason University: "The Future after the Election: What's Left?": https://youtu.be/7SPBRSfqB5Q (2) Beyond the Vote: Base-Building for Class Independence in Philadelphia: https://regenerationmag.org/beyond-the-vote-base-building-for-class-independence-in-philadelphia/ (3) This Time Isn’t Different: DSA leadership should shut up about supporting Joe Biden, Class Unity: https://classunity.org/this-time-isnt-different-dsa-leadership-should-shut-up-about-supporting-joe-biden/ Hosted by Pamela C., Sophia F., with editing assistance by Michael W. Music by Tamas Vilaghy.

Pamela Nogales and Sophia Freeman discuss the shaming of black celebrities who dare to question the black loyalty to the Democratic Party. In particular we address the Left’s reception to Ice Cube’s ‘Contract for Black America,’ proposed to both the Democratic and Republican parties. Pamela sits down with Chris Cutrone to discuss what another four years of Trump--or Biden--might mean for the Left. In the last segment Sophia catches up with our new EU Correspondent, Andreas Wintersperger, to discuss the Left’s response to the on-going migrant crisis and their reaction to the recent fires that have destroyed large migrant camps in Greece. Links: (1) West Coast Platypus election watch party, Tuesday Nov 3, starting at 7:00pm Pacific time: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMrcuCvrTsjHtaNlh1UVGprn63LKqpSuV-K (2) Chris Cutrone, Marxism in the Age of Trump, Articles from the Platypus Review 2015 – 2017: https://www.amazon.com/Marxism-Age-Trump-Articles-2015-2017/dp/0996206132 (3) Efraim Carlebach, Returning to Marxism in the Age of Trump, 2020: https://platypus1917.org/2020/11/01/returning-to-marxism-in-the-age-of-trump-in-2020/ Hosted by Pamela N., & Sophia F., with editing help from Michael W. Music by Tamas Vilaghy

In this episode of SPS, Sophia and Pamela discuss the moral panic surrounding Netflix's new film, Cuties (2020), and take up the responses by Spiked Online and Jacobin magazine. Platypus members Marco Torres and David Faes join us to reflect on Polanski's critically-acclaimed J'Accuse (2019)and how it speaks to the present. In the final segment, Sophia interviews Jack Conrad from the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB). They consider how the 'Left' uses and abuses Karl Kautsky's legacy in order to avoid Kautsky's Marxism and discuss what the CPGB is up to. If you want to learn more about Platypus, and get involved, read the Platypus review, visit us on Facebook under the Platypus Affiliated Society or visit www.platypus1917.org. You can follow us on Instagram: ShitPlatypusSays, and on Twitter: @PlatypusSays. If you like the podcast, share it, rate it, and write us a review. Mentioned:
 (0) Theodor W. Adorno, "Sexual Taboos and the Law Today" (1963) https://platypus1917.org/wp-content/uploads/readings/adorno_sexualtaboostoday.pdf (1) Brendan O'Neill, Cuties Review 
https://www.spiked-online.com/2020/09/15/in-defence-of-cuties/ (2) Eileen Jones, Cuties Review
 https://www.jacobinmag.com/2020/09/cuties-scandal-netflix-controversy-french-movie 
(3) The Spartacist League on Polanski, “Stop the Puritan Witchhunt Against Roman Polanski!” printed in the Workers Vanguard, No. 192, 10 February 1978 https://www.icl-fi.org/english/wv/944/polanski.html
 (4) Platypus' 'Kautsky in the 21st Century' Panel (2020)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aL2TWNd1ntc (5) Communist Party of Great Britain's website https://communistparty.co.uk (6) The CPGB's Weekly Worker website https://weeklyworker.co.uk (7) The CPGB's Communist University 2020 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOkaFWQNpCTrQfT65UszE4A Hosted by Pamela C., Sophia F., with editing assistance by Michael Woodson, Audrey Crescenti and music from Tamas Vilaghy.

Pamela Nogales, Sophia Freeman and Laurie Rojas discuss the call to cancel artist, Jon Rafman, and the revenge campaign led by the @surviving_the_artworld instagram account and break down the anti-sex and anti-art impulses of the culture industry. Pamela & Sophia sit down with Platypus members, Ethan Kaimana (U. Penn) and Will Lushbaugh (San Francisco State), two organizers behind the recent panel, "Police Brutality and the Left," with speakers Andrea Pritchett (Berkeley Copwatch), Conrad Cartmell (Democratic Socialists of America), Larry Holmes (Workers World Party) and Gerald Smith (a former member of the Black Panther Party and the Spartacist League and current member of the Oscar Grant committee). We listen to clips from the panel recording and give our impression of the conversation. In the last segment Pamela & Sophia talk with Joshua Citarella, an artist and cultural thinker whose books, Politigram & the Post-left (2018) and his most recent book, 20 Interviews (2020) offer an in-depth survey of young political spaces online, including interviews with Zoomers that provide and insight into the trajectory of their political education. We sit down with Joshua to discuss what motivates his work and his critique of the millennial generation. Links: (1) Police Brutality and the Left, a panel discussion by the Platypus Affiliated Society https://youtu.be/jwf1_df6FiA In the wake of the killing of George Floyd by police, against the backdrop of the covid shutdown, protests have erupted in every state across America raising the issue of police brutality. The relationship of the Left to these protests, however, has been unclear. Following disappointment with the Bernie Sanders campaign and the nomination of Joe Biden, the Left has sought to politicize the protests and police brutality in different ways. How can the Left address police brutality today? How has it sought to do so in the past? What is the role of the Left in the current moment? (2) Joshua Citarella Find 20 Interviews: https://www.patreon.com/joshuacitarella - https://newmodels.io/proprietary/irony-politics-gen-z-2019-citarella - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/joshua-citarella/id1513817688?i=1000486940573