Swampside Chats

We wrap up our read through and discussion of Critique of the Gotha Program with Constance.

We get nauseous talking to a bookshop owner during our playthrough of Disco Elysium.

We continue our reading and analysis of the new translation of Critique of the Gotha Program with special guest Constance.

We continue our playthrough of Disco Elysium and existentially grapple with the game's (now deprecated) dirtbag left voiceover era. http://patreon.com/swampsidechats http://swampside.chat

We continue our reading and analysis of the new translation of Critique of the Gotha Program with special guest Constance.

Swampside Chats rings in the new year with a visit to the fantastic land of Martinaise where we wake up disoriented in a hotel room and completely forget who we are. http://patreon.com/swampsidechats

We continue our reading and analysis of the new translation of Critique of the Gotha Program with special guest Constance.

We continue our reading and analysis of the new translation of Critique of the Gotha Program with special guest Constance.

We begin our close examination of the Critique of the Gotha Program with Constance.

We are bringing back the Close Reading series. This time we are joined by Constance to tackle a much larger text: Critique of the Gotha Program. We are working off of the new edition published by Spectre. This episode we review the Gotha Program itself and the 1875 letter from Marx to Bracke concerning the "marginal notes" he sent for private circulation. Letter from Marx to Bracke: https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1875/gotha/

We conclude our discussion of "The Logic of Political Survival" and touch a little bit on current events along the way.

Ezri and Jake revisit the selectorate theory of politics and discuss the first half of "The Logic of Political Survival" by Bruce Bueno de Mesquita, Alastair Smith, Randolph M. Siverson, and James D. Morrow.

This episode we are joined again by C Derick Varn for another holiday episode on Jean Baudrillard. With the post-modern fog of war surrounding conflicts like the Ukraine and Syria in mind, we decided to revisit his collection of essays first published in 1991 "The Gulf War Did Not Take Place." And what we found there was maybe less than what we were hoping for.

We are joined by Jamie, a former member of the Canadian section of the IMT (International Marxist Tendency), to discuss the organization and a recent scandal within it, Trotskyism in general, and a few articles by Alan Woods. "Alan Woods' new year's message 2022: I saw it in the movies " https://www.marxist.com/alan-woods-new-year-s-message-2022-i-saw-it-in-the-movies.htm "Marxism vs Identity Politics" https://www.marxist.com/marxist-theory-and-the-struggle-against-alien-class-ideas.htm "Trotsky's suppressed letter: an introduction by Alan Woods" https://www.marxist.com/trotsky-s-suppressed-letter-an-introduction-by-alan-woods.htm

We're joined by Rob Lucas to discuss two of his essays: "Error" and "Feeding the Infant" https://endnotes.org.uk/articles/error.pdf Also please consider supporting: https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/DNAISNTDESTINY

Accompanied by Arnold from Fight Like an Animal, we head once more Into the Enemy Camp, returning to the work of one Theodore John Kaczynski. This time we examine his guide for revolutionary action: Anti-Tech Revolution: Why and How.

We sit down with special guest Viv, to tackle selections from History and Class Consciousness. In the episode, we struggle to get a handle on Lukacs and do justice to the complex (and problematic) theory and legacy of this figure.

We return to the Enemy Camp with Tyler from New Zealand to discuss "The Shadow" by Lionel Terry.

We talk a little bit about Ukraine and then move on to finish our look at Fredrich Engels 1872 pamphlet "The Housing Question." https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1872/housing-question/

This episode we sit down to discuss the recent antiwork internet phenomenon, its detachment from its more pointed ideological origins, and the growth of online spaces where people vent their frustrations with the nature of contemporary work. This discussion was spurred by a recent appearance by an r/antiwork moderator on Fox News, that lead to a viral backlash against it that, by the time you're hearing this you may well have forgotten about. Joining us are a few ex-mods from the anti-work discord.

In light of recent developments in the housing market, we are starting another Close Reading series. This time, we are looking at "The Housing Question" by Frederick Engels. https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1872/housing-question/

We are joined by C Derick Varn for another listener request. This time we're tackling "Farewell to the Working Class" by André Gorz.

We go on yet another forced march, this time we learn the rules of the game from "The Dictator's Handbook," by Bruce Bueno De Mesquita and Alastair Smith.

We are joined by guests Victoria and Gravesend for a News Roundup. Recorded in September, we reflected on the anniversary on 9/11, the Afghanistan pull out, and their implications for American Imperialism.

On a forced march, this time through the enemy camp, we are joined by Ro to look at Gender Acceleration: A Blackpaper by Nyx Land.

We sit down with guest Xur to learn about blockchain and discuss our latest patron request: two pamphlets by the Distributed Cooperative Organization "If I Only Had a Heart: a DisCO Manifesto" and "Groove is in the Heart: The DisCO Elements."

We discuss another patron request, this time it's a two part essay by Robert Brenner, written as the Soviet Union was beginning to unravel: "The Soviet Union and Eastern Europe - The Roots of The Crisis." https://www.versobooks.com/blogs/2490-the-soviet-union-and-eastern-europe-the-roots-of-the-crisis

On another forced march from a patron, we attempt to ascend up the mountain of history to tier teal, and review "Reinventing Organizations" by Frederic Laloux.

We are joined by Tiberius to discuss "Right to the City" from "Writings on Cities" by Henri Lefebvre.

We conclude our discussion with Tom O'Brien about "Fundamental Principles of Communist Production and Distribution" by the Group of International Communists. https://www.marxists.org/subject/left-wing/gik/1930/index.htm

We continue our discussion with Tom O'Brien about "Fundamental Principles of Communist Production and Distribution" by the Group of International Communists. https://www.marxists.org/subject/left-wing/gik/1930/index.htm

We're joined by Tom O'Brien from 'From Alpha to Omega' to break down another Not One Step Back listener request: "Fundamental Principles of Communist Production and Distribution" by the Group of International Communists. https://www.marxists.org/subject/left-wing/gik/1930/index.htm

We conclude our conversation with listener Nick about Erica Benner's "Really Existing Nationalisms." https://www.versobooks.com/books/2672-really-existing-nationalisms

Listener Nick joins us to tackle Erica Benner’s 1995 Marxian treatise on nationality and nationalist politics, “Really Existing Nationalisms: A Post-Communist View from Marx and Engels”. http://patreon.com/swampsidechats http://swampside.chat http://emancipation.network

We conclude our discussion on the Adam Curtis essay film series and review part 4: "Eight People Sipping Wine in Kettering."

We’re back In the Enemy Camp w/ C Derick Varn, and we would like to speak to the (((managers))). On the forced march from a generous patron, we read a mid-90s reactionary pseudo-class analysis from Pat Buchanan’s main man Sam Francis entitled “Leviathan and Its Enemies”, published in 2016. Special thanks to Stevie for additional editing. http://patreon.com/swampsidechats http://emancipation.network

We bring on Tyler from New Zealand to discuss the history of the party and class struggle in the 20th century there, with an eye towards examining the party's relationship to the native Maori people.

We talk about part 3 of the Adam Curtis video essay series.

new Patron tiers announced, starting 12 AM EST 1/1/2021 $1/mo: Discord access $5/mo: live-streamed recordings & early episodes $10/mo: monthly reading group $25/mo: custom episodes (we will read 10 pages per month subscribed) you have just under 2 months to take advantage of the old custom episode rate! http://patreon.com/swampsidechats

On A Very Special Episode of Swampside Chats, Jake, Ezri & Grant jack back into The Simulation with Jean Baudrillard for one last trio adventure in "The Divine Left", and come back one member short. Remember: if you die in The Simulation, you die in real life. http://patreon.com/swampsidechats http://swampside.chat http://emancipation.network

Jake and Ezri recap and discuss the first two episodes of Adam Curtis 2002 documentary essay series The Century of the Self: "Happiness Machines" and "The Engineering of Consent."

We conclude our discussion with Shane & Kyle of G̸e̴n̶e̴r̷a̷l̸ ̸I̴n̴t̷e̶l̴l̷e̵c̵t̷ ̸U̷n̶i̶t̴ ̸r̷e̸t̴u̵r̴n̴ ̷t̸o̶ ̶c̵͈̅o̵̪̽ñ̶̠t̶̬̋i̸͍͛n̴̘͑u̶̺̚e̷̦̎ ̵̹̇ó̷̬u̵͖͑r̶̎͜ ̸͈̃N̷͍͋o̸̫̽r̸̻̈́b̶̫͝e̶̗͑ṙ̶̗t̷́͜ ̶̛͚Ẇ̷̦í̴͚e̴̬̊n̸̛͎ḙ̶͗r̷̗͑ ̸̦͂(̷̨̉1̴̛̫9̴̹̅5̴͓͑0̶̢̋)̸͉͠.̶̤̀ ̴̻̊d̵̝͋í̵̦s̷̟̃c̵̫̚u̷͍̐s̴͇̒ș̶͛ị̵͠o̴̺̓ń̴̞ ̸̪͠E̸̤̊d̶̤̒ǐ̶̭t̸̗́ỉ̷̧o̷̱̕n̵̯̚F̵̠̕i̵̳͒r̸̲͠s̴̺͋t ̴̫̮͗͌̿͆͝ŕ̸͈̪̝͙̘̈́ͅͅé̷̥̥̬̺̩͙̆͐̾̓͠d̵̢͚̗̞̫̑a̷͍͚̣͕̥̬̗̋̂͛͂c̵̛̥̯ͅt̴̛̬̞̘̦͕̦̏͌̃̓e̶̥̜͒̈́͜d̵̛͉͇̖̈́̏͋̄͋̔ ̷̧̘̮̖̫͆̔̄̈́̈́̆U̴̡̜̯̔̈́̒̕̚ṉ̵̖̗̙̦̎̉̈́̄̊i̶̢͊́͝t̴̻̫̦͖͚͌̆̇̆͝ẏ̴̰͊̾́̓̂̎ ̴̢̝̳̲͆̈͛̐Ḩ̸̼̗̗̲͇͖̾͝u̴̞͖͇̦͍̮̝͝m̸̥̤̩̩̿͜á̷̡̤̣̅̉͆̏ṇ̶̢̢͓͖̯̌͐̇̇̃̔ ̸̗̿́B̷̧̛̞̜͚̱̜́ͅě̸̹͙̋̒͊i̴͕͂̑n̸̡͙̬̋g̷̛̳̱̩̖̜̏̉͌̃͐̍͜s̸̳̟͖̀̄͛̾͋̑"̸̡͕̼̼̋̾͊ ̴͙͕̇̀̂H̶̙̺͗ű̴͙̪̭͊̐̈m̴̡͖̠̦̊̔̈́ā̸̳̞̞̼͂͊̇n̵͚̜͛̇͂̀̍̅ ̴̥͈͙̟̠̪͌̐Ư̵̩͎͕̊̅́̔͊̏s̸̝̽̉͗̈͗͑ȩ̵̳̲̥͐̆̊̀ ̴̮͖̲̦̜̀̾̈̔̈͋ǫ̸̥͔̫̦̐͐͒̊̒ͅf̷̢̛̹̹̝̫̱͛͠"̸̡̳̪̱̗͎̆̓̄̾̔͝ͅT̸̝̦͔̦̦̾͑̋́̄h̴̰͆̇̾̿́̉̚e̵̼̳̱̫͈͒̌̂̏̕ ̷̞̯̜͈̔̈́̍͛͠b̴̞͂y̷̟̲̘̓̀̔͊ U̵N̵I̷T̶Y̷ ̵S̶E̵E̴S̸ ̷A̷L̸L̶.̵ ̵U̷N̶I̵T̴Y̶ ̷K̵N̷O̶W̵S̸ ̸A̸L̴L̸.̶ http://patreon.com/generalintellectunit http://patreon.com/swampsidechats http://emancipation.network

Kyle & Shane return to continue our discussion of the spicy First Edition of "The Human Use of Human Beings" by Norbert Wiener (1950). http://patreon.com/generalintellectunit http://patreon.com/swampsidechats PDF of the rare First Edition: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1h589Ul_c7ZsTjUl5kRraMDEVPwmy5d7K/view?usp=drivesdk

PDF: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1h589Ul_c7ZsTjUl5kRraMDEVPwmy5d7K/view?usp=drivesdk

In another installment of our "Not One Step Back" reading series, we discuss two pieces by Hal Draper, "Toward a New Beginning, on Another Road," and "The Myth of Lenin's Concept of the Party."

Show Notes by C: Charleena Lyles, a pregnant black woman murdered in front of her children by Seattle Police in 2017; here's a recent article about her family's demands as they seek justice for Charleena: https://www.realchangenews.org/2020/06/24/seattle-police-killing-charleena-lyles-localizes-blacklives-protest-and-amasses-similar Decriminalize Seattle https://decriminalizeseattle.com/ Recall Durkan https://www.recalldurkan.org/ No New Youth Jail https://nonewyouthjail.com/ King County Equity Now: https://www.kingcountyequitynow.com/ - Decrim Seattle one of the main coalitions fighting to defund Seattle Police Department - Recall Durkan is the effort to recall the mayor - No New Youth Jail I did not mention but meant to - it's what it sounds like - King County Equity Now is a coalition that includes the Africa Town initiative(s) I mentioned

Jake and Ezri sit down with Ben Lain, who recently visited Seattle's Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone, to get his impressions and talk about the phenomenon of occupational protests.

Ezri and Jake sit down with listener Cole from Minneapolis to talk about the recent wave of riots, rebellions, and mutual aid efforts following the police murder of George Floyd.

In the latest installment of our Joy of Sects series, we sit down with Luke to talk about the Kansas City Red Guards.

We sit down to discuss "Ecology and Historical Materialism" by Jonathan Hughes.

May the Fourth Be With You as Jamie & Andy return to finish up a superior sci-fi saga: The Bell Riots! Find out what happens when you accidentally get Lenin killed and have to Riot. Strike. Riot your way back to the original timeline. Are you still watching? Put up a Vulcan salute and let's conclude our Netflix & chill lockdown with "Past Tense (Part II)"!