Podcast appearances and mentions of Leon Trotsky

85 years since the May 24, 1940 assassination attempt against Leon Trotsky

In this episode of the "Kent Hance: The Best Storyteller in Texas" podcast, host Kent Hance discusses the theme of political exile, focusing on figures like Leon Trotsky, Idi Amin, and the Shah of Iran. Hance provides historical context, detailing their lives in exile and the political ramifications of their actions. The conversation also addresses broader political issues such as immigration, judicial conduct, and the challenges faced by political leaders. Hance shares personal anecdotes and reflections on power, governance, and the consequences of political dissent, offering listeners an engaging and thought-provoking discussion.

The last days before the Great Hunt.Book 3 in 18 parts, By FinalStand. Listen to the ► Podcast at Explicit Novels.“Can the scorpion ever stop being a scorpion? “"Do we get our legally permitted weaponry back?" The bishop still held my hand."Sure. If it makes you feel better.""I would like to meet your people then," he gave my paw one last shake then released me. "Shall we go?""I will have someone take you to your car. I want to briefly meet with the President, of Havenstone, then I'll join you in the garage. We'll drive over to JIKIT and I'll make the introductions. Good enough?""That is acceptable," he nodded."What about you two?" I regarded the nun and the Swiss Super-soldier. The nun remained vigilant, and silent. The Swiss' eyes flickered to his boss before settling back on me."It is what I volunteered for," he stated firmly."Okay. Please never say I didn't give you a chance to take the sane way out. Also, Bishop Nicolö, circumstances have conspired to up my prospective wedding date to January 1st.""That will be more difficult. Why the change?" he remained grim."We are having twins. By March, this will be very visible.""That is, unfortunate," he shook his head."You have no idea," and then a brainstorm. "And I am curious about resurrecting the Order of the Dragon, the Societas Draconistarum." Technically that meant 'Society of the Dragonists' which was more appropriate than the literal Ordo Draconis."Precisely how do you plan to recreate a crusading Christian Order which was the purview of the Hungarian monarchs?" he didn't sound the least skeptical, just curious."I have billions of euros to fund such a thing," I winked. "Of far greater critical importance, I know where I can find the supernatural guidance and spiritual imperative for such an organization.""You are going to produce a dragon?" his eyes grew larger even as he fought down his fear. Good man. He was adaptive. He'd need to be."I never said such a thing. That would make me sound crazy," I smiled broadly. "Besides, when I say 'dragon', you think 'devil' and that's way too pedestrian for where we are going.""I am not a moral relativist.""Neither am I. I'm out to save lives and nurture the drive in the human spirit to reach for freedom, love and liberty. As you might imagine, I'm pretty freaking outnumbered.""I think you are crazy," he re-evaluated things."I just might be. In all honesty, you should back out now. Take your two compadres back to 25 East 39th Street (the Holy See's Permanent Observer Offices to the UN in NYC) and report 'Mission Failure'. You'll most likely live longer," I reasoned."I am not afraid to die," Sister Rafaela Sophia finally voiced an opinion."That's idiotic," I scoffed before the bishop could reprimand her for opening her mouth. "You should be.""My soul is in God's hands," she set her jaw."Does he talk to you?" I countered."His message is clear.""Not what I asked. I asked if he specifically directed you to toss your life fruitlessly away as an object lesson for the reckless, or careless?""This is uncalled for," Nicolö intervened."Nope. I bet you a phone call to my Brother to physically restore your bishopric that there are four people in this room who have murdered in cold blood," I kept eye contact with the nun, "and she's the odd one out. Right Juanita?""Yes, Ishara," Juanita slipped up. Her spycraft, like mine, needed work."You were in the military?" the bishop asked my bodyguard."Was? I am. Right now," she related. "I will be until I die."That earned me looks from the three Catholics."She is loyal," Nicolö nodded slightly toward her, referring to Juanita's declaration."Huh? To me? Nope. She's loyal to my office, which we shan't get into right now. Back to you, Sister Rafaela Sophia. Are you out to be a martyr, or has some saint, or angel, given you a directive the other two seem to be unaware of which causes you to devalue your life?""I am devoted to the One True God, Christ, our Savior," and Juanita snorted, "and the Virgin Mary," the nun stated firmly. "I don't hear voices in my head.""Juanita, that was rude. Apologize to our guest," I kept looking forward."No." Well, fuck you too."Gun," I commanded. I held out my left hand."What? No. I will not give you one of my guns," she resisted."Juanita, give me your primary weapon, or I will ask Pamela to beat you up the moment I depart for the Great Hunt. After yesterday's stunt, you know she will," I threatened. Fair, I was not. She drew a Glock-20 and handed it to me. I went through the routine, dropped the magazine then ejected the round before opening the door.Oh look, there were four SD chicks outside, ready to escort my visitors downstairs. I didn't even need to waste a phone call. It wasn't like the conference room wasn't being monitored."Excuse me," I took a half step out the door then hurled all three items down the hall. Looking back at Juanita. "Go fetch.""Fuck you," she snapped."And insulting her faith was as degrading to both her faith and her as me doing this to you is degrading to you right now," I lectured her. "It is important to her, therefore it is important to me because she is my guest in the same way it is important to me that I let my bodyguard do her job without being a total asshole all the time. Now go get your God-damn weapon," I barked. Off she went. I left the door open."Now Sister Rafaela Sophia, the point of all this is: I don't give a crap if you are willing to die for God. In fact, that makes you less than worthless to me and the team. I want to know if you are willing to put other motherfuckers in the ground so that Bishop Nicolá, or Mathias, might get to keep doing their jobs.""Murder is a sin," she declared."Go home," I sighed while shaking my head."She answers to me, the Church and God, not you, Mr. Nyilas," the bishop stepped forward."Then you can go home too," I shrugged. "I'm not asking for remorseless killers. I'm asking for people willing to kill to get the hard work done and best of all, for people who know the difference.""Everyone on JIKIT is a professional soldier, or killer?" he asked."No, but the ones who aren't don't carry guns and know to get down when things get funky," I bantered."I vouch for her," he insisted. Juanita came running back into the room."Cool beans. I don't know you either.""You apparently know my service history," he volleyed."Yeah. Ten years a foreigner in the service of France, then you went straight into a university which turns out Jesuits," I riposted."What turned your life around?" he evaded. That was okay. I'd gotten what I wanted. I was willing to bet he had read every bit of public information about me and it was rumored the heavy Catholic membership in the FBI had its benefits to the Church as well. Not so much as to give them insight into JIKIT, but,"Someone risked their life for me. It's been pretty much downhill from there," I confessed. It was the truth. After Katrina gave me the life line on Day Two, it had all spiraled to the revelation of my heritage, Dad's death, Summer Camp, the Hamptons, Romania and Aya's kidnapping."A person, a soldier, died saving my life," the bishop empathized. "Her story is similar. She seeks redemption. She is not suicidal. I am staking both our lives on it."Did he mean him and Mathias, or him and me? I wasn't certain. Still, it was good enough for now. I'd gotten a look at their emotional make up, even the relatively quiet Swiss."Very well," I agreed. "I have to go see the President about my new job description. I'll catch up with you at your car." To the SD team leader, "Take them to the garage. I will join the group of you very soon.""Yes Ishara," she nodded. I exited the room, Juanita in tow. Two SD entered. I was gone before the Papal team left. Upstairs we went, with one last chore to discharge. I had to check on Ms. French to be absolutely freaking sure it was Shawnee, because anyone else would spell disaster.{8:30 am, Monday, September 8th. Last day}A Room full of asistants:Well, there it was, the office of the Executive Director to the President, and not 'Executive Assistant', because this was Katrina's final 'fuck you, no, just her final 'fuck you' before the Great Hunt got underway. I shouldn't assume things, dang it!Anyway, according to the gray-haired matron running gatekeeper to the Office of the President, this was where I was supposed to show up. I shot Juanita a worried look. She glanced my way and shrugged, momentarily willing to not give me shit about the past 24 hours because where I was situated would determine how easily she could do her job.In we went. In the suite were three desks, the 'big' desk situated at the far end of the office space and two far more modest ones on either side of the entryway. The room expanded beyond the chokepoint formed by the two closest desks into a cluttered area. The walls were cluttered with inset bookshelves and portraits of women. Facing one another were a loveseat on my left with bookend plush chairs in an 'L' facing and a full sofa on the right. There were end tables at the ends of the sofa and the corners between the loveseat and each chair.As the door opened, I hadn't knock as this was my office, or so it seemed, the occupants, who had all been sitting in quiet conversation in the central section, began reacting. Oh look ~ Constanza! I nearly had a heart attack before I realized there were three other Amazons also in the room. Sadly, none were behind the 'big desk', so I couldn't tell who was in charge. Two of the other three choices weren't too much better. First off,"Ishara," Marilynn Saint John stood to greet me. I'd last seen her when I'd dedicated her grandmother's (Hayden's) spirit to the halls of my ancestors, not hers, after forcing the political crisis leading to Hayden's suicide ~ her taking herself to the cliffs and in doing so, destroying the Amazon Cult of Blood Purity. Marilynne was clearly still bitter with me. Umm, I could still incite passion in women I hadn't slept with, yet, woot?"Cáel," the senior-most and only friendly face in the room spoke next. Thank goodness it was Beyoncé Vincennes, Head of House Hanwasuit and House Ishara ally."Cáel Ishara," the third individual was deferential which I wasn't sure how to take as the last time I'd encountered her, yeah, things hadn't gone well either."Beyoncé," I started off with a smile. From there, I had to figure out, ah, Beyoncé's eyes flickered to Constanza then Sabia. I knew Marilynn, with her young age, had the least seniority, "Constanza, Sabia, Marilynn. How's tricks?"Glum faces by everyone except Beyoncé. I didn't ask about Sabia's particular well-being. It had been months since I'd beaten her into the mats of the Full-blooded gym. She'd attacked Yasmin, the Brazilian Hottie and my Brazilian Jujutsu sparring buddy, and I'd retaliated by ambushed her when she turned her back on us. Besides, she'd been giving me shit before I even could see straight.Constanza was minus her left eye because of her dire insult to me. If she wasn't capable of working, she wouldn't be here. If she appreciated my 'mercy' in sparing her life ~ her insult was worthy of her death ~ Constanza hid it well. I hadn't spared her expecting a change of heart. I hadn't felt words alone warranted anyone's death. I was a big boy and could take a few insults. House Ishara, as represented by me, could care less. These days, my sisters would be less understanding despite them knowing my heart."Constanza Landau of House Jaya and Marilynn Saint John of House Anahit are Assistants to President Shawnee French," Beyoncé eased things along, "so will be working closely with us, at least for the short term. Sabia Noel of House Guabancex, who I now think you know as well, has joined you as the other 'Assistant' to the 'Executive Director to the President', (that would make me an 'adept', but adept at what?), and since two of the three Regents are unfamiliar with the workings of Havenstone proper, Shawnee has asked me to perform in that role."Beyoncé was, or had been, Havenstone HQ's CFO (Chief Financial Officer). From what I was quickly piecing together, she would essentially be making all the day-to-day decisions concerning the running of Havenstone (how the Host made the majority of its money) until the Regents got up to speed.Only Buffy had actual experience with the New York office and, from what she had told me, solely within Executive Services. While ES knew 'who' did what inside Havenstone, they weren't aware precisely how those Amazons got their jobs done. That would have been an impossible task. Katrina could do it, but she knew it was beyond the ability of most of us 'mere mortals'. Since we were currently at war, the Host needed Katrina completely focused on her duties as Chief Spy-mistress, not baby-sitting the adults.Shawnee indeed had much gravitas among the other House Heads. Not only had she risen up to lead a First House, she had performed heroically during the final days of the last Secret War. Afterwards she had moved into the realm of Amazon jurisprudence and mediation. Until yesterday, she had lived in a House Arinniti freehold in Minnesota's Great Lakes region thus her desire for the 'Training Wheels' period.The Regency would not rule through telecommunication (the upper echelons feared being eavesdropped upon beyond the standard Amazon (read: paranoid) levels) and Havenstone: New York was the center best situated for the current war-fighting operations, so here she lived. I was sure a team from Executive Services was buying, outfitting/spy-proofing and fortifying a dwelling suitable for the President of a Fortune 500 company. Hayden's home would remain the domicile of Sydney thus Marilynn.The same rigmarole would be done for Rhada and Buffy (though I imaged Buffy would bitch endlessly). Publically, they were VP's of a company worth hundreds of billions of dollars and they had to present the public trappings of such leaders.Why did the Amazons do this ~ unmask their leadership to public exposure? Legal-simple: they could request and expect all levels of public and private security for their executives who happened to also be important officials of the Host. Certainly not all executives at Havenstone were officeholders, House Heads, or House Apprentices, but the high level of competence which permitted one often led to the other.Beyonce:As an example: Beyoncé wasn't the most 'bad-ass' lethal chick in House Hanwasuit. As she was preparing to be casted, her intelligence, creativity and diligence at her future craft, finances, was noted by the Host and the members of her House. In due time her name was circulated as Apprentice and the elders approved. When her elder cousin, the prior House Head, took herself to the cliffs, Beyoncé assumed the top spot. Beyoncé wasn't even one of that woman's three daughters.Mirroring her advancement in her House was her advancement in Havenstone's Accounting, Acquisitions and Banking Divisions until she was appointed CFO Havenstone HQ ~ the supreme financial authority inside Havenstone, though the individual regional branches had a greater degree of autonomy than you might normally expect from a 21st century conglomerate, or a Bronze Age autocracy.I had to constantly remind myself, despite the near-constant feuding, Amazons exhibited a phenomenally higher level of trust than I'd ever found in any other society I'd ever witnessed, or read about, before. Though technically Beyoncé could have gone to President Hayden to enforce her decisions ~ or now the Regency ~ she was far more diplomatic in her approach in dealing with the other 'continental' CEO's and CFO's.That meant she had to wrangle the aspirations and resources from:North America (including Latin America, the 'Canadian Arctic' and the North Pacific Ocean),South America (includes both the South Atlantic and South Pacific as far as Samoa),Europe (mostly Central Europe these days plus Antarctica, the 'Russian' Arctic and the North Atlantic),Africa (mostly West-central Africa),India (the subcontinent plus the vast expanse of the Indian Ocean) and,Southeast Asia (which includes Australia)All of which suggested Havenstone hadn't redrawn the Amazons' geographic demarcations since the late 19th century. As an example, an East African venture, say in Tanzania, was as likely to be under the purview of Havenstone: India (due to its control over the Indian Ocean) as Havenstone: Africa (which traditionally had no East Coast holdings due to their constant struggles versus the Arabic slave trade).Returning to Beyoncé: initially she had held the proper 'conservative' (aka man-hating) mindset. My behavior during that first Board Meeting began to change her opinion of me and the New Directive. After the Archery Range incident, Beyoncé became a vocal proponent of the New Directive and faced challenges within her ranks. House Heads do not have to accept challenges and Beyoncé didn't, reasoning with her detractors they had no alternatives save the 'Old Ways' which spelled doom for the Amazon Race.Bing-bang-boom ~ I became the Head of a resurrected House Ishara by the Will of the Ancestors and Beyoncé was vindicated. Not necessarily in the New Directive, but in her support of me thus the rebirth of a sister First House. The purge following High Priestess' Hayden's death was her ultimate absolution. The Ancestors and Destiny had spoken and shown Beyoncé had been piloting House Hanwasuit along the proper course all along.Back to my current circumstances:Oh, why was I Assistant to the Executive Director to the President? It gave me direct access to the finances of Havenstone which was a critical leg of the war-fighting stool ~ people, morale, money and equipment. As Chief Diplomat, I helped with all four of those in varying degrees, allied troops, allied victories, allied bank accounts and allied armaments.The Great Khan, my spiritual 'Blood-Brother', was ramping up his logistic support for my Amazons in Africa, Asia and the Americas. We were 'Allies in the Struggle' and he wasn't going to wait for the Condottieri to begin coordinating with the Seven Pillars to declare them to be his enemies. They were already fighting the Amazons and 9 Clans, his allies, so their fates were sealed.In Japan, my Amazons provided small yet highly effective strike groups which the Ninja families furnished all the support services for. Everything from food to bullets to medical attention as needed. Without reservation, we shared their death-grapple with the Seven Pillars.From the dispatches I was getting back from my family members and envoys in Japan, we were making serious diplomatic inroads with the Ninja. Once again, it was the Amazons shocking capacity for violence as well as their fanaticism, professionalism and proficiency which all impressed our hosts and terrified our enemies, and this from people of a philosophical mindset which had them historically battling samurai.The Black Lotus were running around like rhesus monkeys on crack cocaine unleashed in a China Shop and given RPG's. While the Amazons couldn't help them in China, Indochina & Thailand ~ the Khanate could and was. The Amazons were of more help in the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia, where the Black Lotus and Amazons were going everywhere on the offensive against the Seven Pillars while the normal tight cohesion and iron-clad confidence, traits which made the 7P's so dangerous ~ were shaken by their horrendous losses in the 'Homeland' aka Mainland China.Less we forget, the 'military intelligence' wing of their organization had been decimated by the Khanate's Anthrax attack due to members of the Earth & Sky sacrificing themselves by being injected with the toxin then allowing themselves to be captured, which always ended in torture and death.Furthermore, the People's Republic of China, while having a scary 18% of the population either captured, imprisoned, dead, or displaced due to the Khanate invasion, that had come with the loss of 63% of their landmass (they had lost all of Nei Mongol, Ningxia & Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Regions, Qinghai and Gansu as well as 90% of Yunnan, 80% of Sichuan and 20% of Shaanxi provinces) to the Khanate and the 'abomination' that was a free Tibet.Then came the Russian 'stab in the back' which entailed the loss of another 10% of their people falling under foreign dominion as well as losing 8% of their most industrialized territory, Manchuria (Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning provinces ~ the Nei Mongol portion of 'Manchuria' was in the Khanate's greedy clutches, from the viewpoint of a Seven P's warrior).Don't get me wrong, they weren't about to throw in the towel. If anything, they were becoming more dedicated to trying harder, digging deep into their knowledge of every atrocity, inhumanity and perversion now deemed necessary to re-chart history back onto its 'correct' path. It was this willingness to act in an even greater sociopathic manner which was being used against them. After all, the 7P's had plenty of proxy allies, who were starting to get really nervous about what their paymasters were now asking them to do,We Amazons were getting some extra special help too. The Booth-gan (Do not call them Thuggee ~ the confederate 9 Clan member based out of India though long since ensconced within various Hindi enclaves across the Globe) had created an all-female group of ultra-fanatical Kali-devotees ~ a gift for the upcoming battle fomented by the Will of the Goddess herself.While Aya was our Queen and the Regency would rule until she wished to assume command of the Amazon People, the nuts-and-bolts of the Host's activities were handled by Saint Marie as Golden Mare (our Minister of War) (technically she held the top spot due to our State of War, though no Golden Mare had ever exercised such authority over a Queen (and she definitely believed Aya was our Queen)), Katrina (as Minister of Intelligence and Security), Beyoncé (as Havenstone (the multinational corporation) ~ our Treasurer/Economic Tsarina) and me (our Foreign Minister).Saint Marie had decided to forgo a public face in order to better facilitate her moving around to various battle fronts and holding clandestine meetings with her junior regional commanders. Her Havenstone corporate title was 'Chief of Security Training and Certification'. As an extra level of deception, the head of Security Services wasn't even a Director-level position, instead being folded into the duties of the Office of the President.To my current circumstances ~ I had been given Constanza's house name which could only mean she wasn't currently assigned to the Security Detail; a fact that couldn't have made her bad attitude any better. Marilynn had completely lost her way as an Amazon when I first met her, burying her pain and confusion in endless partying and intoxicants. I believed only her grandmother's status as High Priestess kept her from the severest of reprimands, or death. I didn't even know what Marilynn's caste was. Sabia,"While I'm sure you are both far more qualified than I, precisely how did you two get these jobs?" I had to ask my two non-coworkers. Constanza glowered. Marilynn flinched."I have an in depth knowledge of Havenstone security procedures and resources," Constanza replied."Shawnee requested me," was Marilynn's comeback. "I also have intimate knowledge of the City of New York and its environs.""Actually, Buffy Ishara recommended you both to Shawnee," Beyoncé corrected their misconceptions. I knew the score. I'd be working intimately with the tight community around the President (Shawnee) and Vice Presidents (Buffy & Rhada). Buffy wanted me to be surrounded by women who hated my guts, so I wouldn't end up boinking them. It rarely worked that way. All too often ladies who hated my still-beating heart ended up punishing me with sex. I wasn't sure why that happened, but it did."Beyoncé, didn't the Chief Diplomat of the Host have her own office? I'm pretty sure Troika had one before her unfortunate collision with Saint Marie," I felt entitled to inquire."Do you feel you've earned that office space?" she riposted."Oh, fuck no!" I waved my hands one over the other to accentuate my denial. "I was just wondering where I could stick Juanita while I'm hanging around, here.""She has the desk right outside the door, Cáel," Beyoncé smiled knowingly. "So there is no way you can sneak past her.""Oh," I grunted. "Buffy again?""No. Pamela Pile put in that particular request.""Oh, Sweet Mother of God, now she is conspiring against me too?""Yes. Some of us realize the greatest hazard to your health is yourself, Ishara," Beyoncé chided me. "We'd like to keep you around, so we listen to those charged with that nigh impossible task.""Is she going to be hanging around the office often?" Constanza asked, either myself, Juanita, or Beyoncé; I wasn't sure. She = Pamela."Please, Constanza," I attempted to intervene, "don't make Pamela kill you. It will upset Mona." Constanza's scowl was accentuated by the eyepatch covering her ruined left socket, the one Pamela had carved out when Constanza had insulted me and House Ishara on our first day of rebirth. I didn't tell Juanita this, because Juanita might just shoot Constanza over the insult before Pamela got a chance to finish the job.The tension was palatable."Mona and I have talked, about Romania, and other things," Constanza grudgingly allowed. It took me a second to realize there was a hidden meaning to what she said. Mona was part of my personal Security Detail bodyguard unit. If she felt Constanza, the woman who had raised her after her birth-mother had died, was a threat to me, she'd feel duty-bound to snuff Constanza first. Amazons were hard-ass bitches alright and I think Mona had made that clear."I hope things can improve between us," I offered to Constanza. "Beyoncé, I just stopped in to say 'hey'. I'm off to JIKIT and I've got three of the Pope's people waiting on me in the garage so,""Vice President Varma requested a moment of your time," Beyoncé smirked. "She is in 2604.""Who?""Vice President Rhada Varma, a moment of your time, alone?" she clarified."Sure thing," I backed out of the office. Once I had some space, I turned to Juanita. "Give me three minutes then bust in and say, I don't know, a tsunami is about to overwhelm the city, or something. Otherwise, I won't get out for at least an hour and I think I've put the Bishop and his people through enough delays as it is.""Are you actually asking me to stop you from having an in-office liaison?" she studied me intently as we walked in the direction of Rhada's office."Yes. It's not likely to happen often, believe me.""Oh, I do, in that you won't ask me to do it often," she grumbled. I'd deal with Juanita's morale problem later. Right now, I had to gird my loins so they wouldn't do anything else with Rhada. I had work to do, damn it!Rhada was sitting at her desk, working on something, stylus raised up so she could chew on the end. Her hair was pulled back in a half-ponytail, the type that captured the rear half of the hair in a ponytail while leaving the front and bangs free to flow down. Rhada's blouse was white & billowy and, as I was soon to discover, her pants were ultra-tight and contour hugging."Mr. Nyilas," she greeted me. "I would like a moment of your time," she relayed what I already knew. She was more than a tad nervous to boot."Vice President Varma," I started off."When in private you may call me Rhada," she interrupted."Rhada, you look more ravishing than ever."That got up her and coming around her desk, which revealed her ultra-tight pants with no sign of her wearing underwear. Yikes! My cock was preparing to do what a cock was meant to do and I just didn't have the time, Really!"Do you have any time?" she let her bosom heave."Not today, ugh," I groaned. See, Rhada took the stylus and dragged it down her chin, throat and in between her bountiful mounds.All of which exposed the top of her black bra."Are you sure, Master?" she enticed me by turning around and then leaning over her desk, point that ass in my direction. My mouth began salivating and my groin ached. I found myself quick-stepping to her and giving those buttocks two firm slaps, one on each cheek."No, damn it, though I'm going to make you pay for this when I get back," I rumbled."Master will make me wait?" she taunted me."That will cost you even more," I growled. "I have business which simply won't wait and here is my captive teasing me with the treasures of her flesh. Bad, war captive," I spanked her yet again, hard. "Bad!" and I spanked her a fourth time. With each beating, Rhada gasped in pain and then exhaled in pleasure."If I've been bad, Master must be extra harsh with me when he returns in triumph from the Great Hunt," she gloated. Rhada had gotten what she wanted, which was another affirmation of my lust for her and our 'game'. I could provide her the release she so desperately craved while allowing her the safety of remaining in the Amazon fold. It was a perfect pairing, for her.I had other problems, such as all the other baby mamas in my life plus the extra-marital affairs I was contemplating. I still took the moments we had to snuggle with Rhada, her grinding that tush into my rod while I held both her arms tightly to her side while raining kisses down onto her neck and head."Sir! A giant tsunami is approaching the city!" Juanita exploded through the door."What?" I coughed. I had a face full of hair."Huh?" Rhada pushed up and away from me. I let her go."Right now," Juanita insisted. She really needed to stop taking me so seriously when I gave her such advice."Really?" from Rhada. She shot me a curious look so I shrugged. What else was I supposed to do with such a flimsy lie forcing our separation? At least I got out of there on time?{9:50 am, Monday, September 8th ~ Last day}(JKIT HQ)"Is this a common occurrence?" Sister Rafaela Sophia whispered to the closest woman, who happened to be Wiesława, the Polish Amazon. Since she hadn't arrived with us from Havenstone, the nun might have assumed she was with the 'Americans', or British."What?" Wiesława responded evenly."Weapons combat, they look real," the nun clarified."They are real. We always practice with real weapons.""Really?""Of course," Wiesława smiled at her. "We believe a few cuts and scrapes now will save lives when the true tests come.""Oh, you are with, Havenstone?" Rafaela clued in."Yes. I am Wiesława of House Živa. I am currently assigned to Unit L, Cáel's unit within JIKIT," she offered her hand to shake. Despite being a full-blooded Amazon from a freehold, her 'human' skills were progressing nicely. The nun shook it."I am Sister Rafaela Sophia of the Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, that is a Roman Catholic Religious Order." Pause. "Do you hate Catholics too?""Yes. We have lived beside your people for many centuries and found your clergy to be much more dangerous than your pagan predecessors. Still, Cáel thinks you can be relied on and he's proven we can trust outsider women, which I was raised to believe was unlikely, and outsider men, which was basically anathema, so I'm willing to set aside my prejudices and judge you as an individual," the Pole imparted."Outsider men?" Rafaela mumbled."Well, yes," Wiesława smirked. "You are a nun, right?""Yes.""So you set aside the World of Men to live mostly among women, right?""Not entirely," the nun chose her words carefully. "We still rely on priests for religious rights and of course obey the life teachings of Christ and follow the leadership of his Holiness, the Pope, a man.""No one is perfect," the Amazon bantered back."Do you know the teachings of our Lord, Jesus Christ?" Rafaela ventured into dangerous waters."Yes. He was the semi-historical Son of your supposed One True God. We are not monotheists. We are Polytheists. Živa is my House's matron Goddess. It is also the name of the first woman to lead the House, her birth name surrendered to Destiny so all the daughters who came afterwards would be equals.""Oh, is Mr. Nyilas also pagan?" she inquired."I am unsure. From what I have been told, he has commended the spirit of his fallen father to your Jesus in a sacred ceremony then, in the presence of your Trinity and the Goddess Ishara, brought in new members to his House. I suspect he may be both," Wiesława reasoned. "Why don't you ask him?""Because he's fighting for his life?" Rafaela looked my way.See, the entire time their discussion had been going on, I had been sparring in a spare room at JIKIT HQ with Estere Abed, the Hashashin assassin (rather redundant ~ like saying the Sahara Desert). I had two tomahawks while she had a scimitar and curved dagger. While we sparred using the furniture as obstacles, Agent-86 was briefing me on various World events to get my input.Addison Stuart (CIA) and Lady Fathom Worthington-Burke (MI-6) were having a chat with Bishop Nicolé de Santis, verifying for themselves he was worth adding to the team. Juanita was having a similar discussion with Rikki Martin (US State Department) concerning my earlier encounter with the Papal team. Nicolé's buddy, Wachtmeister Mathias Bosshart of the Swiss Guard, was getting acquainted with the other security personnel.In comparison, those two had it easy. Both men were in their elements. Nicolé was a spook who pretended to be a diplomat for the Pope and was well acquainted with terms like 'deniable assets', 'plausible deniability' and your direct superior referring to requests concerning your identity/diplomatic status by saying 'I never heard of him and if I had, I have no idea what he was doing when you caught him doing what I don't know what he was doing', or something like that.Mathias was in the company of military-security specialists, brother professionals who were introducing him to his 'sister' professionals. Our Homeland Security gang were almost entirely former military by now. They got along with our JSOC folks and both had gained a limited acceptance with the Amazon security contingent.They bonded over the fact they were forced to work with really shady characters ~ the 9 Clans menagerie ~ who didn't always appreciate JIKIT operational security. Without going into particulars, the Wachtmeister was given the impression the abnormal was the norm and if you didn't think there was a 'down-side' to being able to carry your personally favorite bang-bang (the SG 552-2P Commando in his case) with some serious attachments (read: grenade launcher) around in downtown Manhattan, you probably didn't belong on this team.Back in the room,"He's not fighting for his life," Estere laughed. "He is fighting for mine.""Right," I responded sarcastically. We went through a flurry of exchanges, ending up with me kicking a chair at her. Estere stepped over it, colliding with me.I blocked her dagger, disarmed her scimitar and,"You are dead," she panted down at me, smiling. I was on my back, her straddling me. She had a belt-knife to my throat. I hadn't see her draw it. The scimitar 'disarm' had been a distraction."Woot!" I exhaled."But you're dead," Sister Rafaela misunderstood my good humor."He survived a minute and thirty-four seconds more today than his previous record," Estere responded. She slithered off of me, doing my arousal no good whatsoever, then offered me a hand up."And that's better?""He's a rank amateur with a few months on the job. I've been training to kill people for nearly two decades," Estere smiled. "Care to have a go?""With him, or you?""Either," Estere offered."I don't have a knife, or any hand weapons," she stated."We'll need to remedy that," Wiesława stated. "You should at least carry a knife.""Really? Why?""It is a nearly universal tool," I verbally stepped up. "Even if you are disarmed, you should be able to find one relatively easily, people are less likely to miss a stolen knife than a purloined gun, and a concealed blade could come in handy.""Do you train in knife-work?" Rafaela eye-balled me."Absolutely. It is part of my culture," I grinned."Okay. Can we spar, hand-to-hand?""Sure," I nodded. I put my tomahawks in their harnesses then put my harnesses aside. Estere gave me a wink before giving us the fighting space."So," Rafaela began to circle, "are you Christian?""By your definition, or mine?""By the definition of the Catholic Church."Oh cool, she went for a Savate stance. This was going to get ugly.My "no," was followed by her kick and my block, lunge and grapple. She wasn't nearly as good as Felix. I had her down and in a choke hold within fifteen seconds.Perhaps she thought I'd take it easy on her. She tapped out. I released her, retreated and flowed back to my boxing stance. It took her a moment to realize this was 'practice', not 'an interview'. She hadn't failed in anyone's eyes. We were both doing this to get better."See, I really, truly believe I have talked to supernatural entities ~ some who are considered divinities," I continued. This time she was more careful, trading jabs and blocks with me. "They don't claim to be the One True God. I believe in such a thing, but I also believe having been given the Message, Humanity has been left to muddle things out for ourselves."Whoops, she popped me one."The Woman-Thing this morning?""Yep," I evaded another flurry. She got cocky and I landed three blows, dropping her to the ground. I didn't help her up. Instead, I withdrew and let her get back up on her own before deciding if she wanted to continue. She did."I believe I've seen dragons and ghosts. I have felt legions of my ancestors give me quiet encouragement when I needed it. I know the dead have been brought back to life," I came at her. This time we both went for body blows, knees, elbows and fists. She was not SD-caliber and she needed to be. I grappled and she was forced to tap out again. After she regained her feet, she held up a hand for a pause."Do you believe any of that?" she addressed Estere."I am an adherent of Ismaili Islam yet nothing Cáel has encountered is contrary to my belief system. The Universe is a complex place and the Divine Light is often seen through a fractured lenses," she counseled the nun."Among the escapees were lawyer Francisco Luemba, Catholic Priest Raul Tati, economist Belchior Lanso Tati and former policeman Benjamin Fuca who are serving jail sentences of between three and six years each for supposed links to the rebel group FLEC (Frente para a Libertaé'o do Enclave de Cabinda), which carried out the attack on the Togolese football team at the start of the Africa Cup of Nations in January, 2010," Agent-86 read off yet another bit of global minutia."We need to get to them," I half turned. Sister Rafaela punched me in the gut and I folded up."Oh!" she gasped. "I'm sorry.""Okay," I mumbled. I had to keep with the plan. "Those men. We need to contact our Coils people in Kinshasa and the Warden of the Mountain Ways ('she' was the Amazon Host's leader of Africa ~ in the ancient times, the mountain ways had been the routes of southern vulnerability for the Amazon tribe thus the name).""Okay," both Agent-86 and Estere answered."Why?" 86 added."The Coils and the Host have had a serious problem with no nation in Africa giving them even back room recognition so we are going to take over our own country, Cabinda. It's been struggling to be free of Angola since 1975 and, by latest estimates, we've got strike elements of over 2,000 Amazons ready and waiting next door in Cameroon, Gabon and the Republic of Congo.""So you are going to go to war with Angola?" Estere frowned. "Don't we have enough enemies?""Au contraire," I grinned wickedly. "The resistance movement is genuine," I ticked off my points, "they have tons of offshore oil, and after we set off some spectacular explosions in the two main Angolan ports which are just down the coast, we allow global panic to bully the UN into intervening before the Angolan military launch an effective counter-offensive ~ considering the Angolan Armed Forces (I'd been reading up on a ton of CIA & MI-6 briefings) will most likely involve attrition warfare since they can't beat us in a stand-up fight.""They, the Angolans, have no overland access, they are separated by 60 kilometers of territory belonging to the Democratic Republic of Congo over some sad ass roads Plus the Congo River itself which is freaking huge by the time it gets that close to the Atlantic, Cabinda rests on the Atlantic Ocean by the way. No bridges. The Angolan Navy is anemic. Let me think."I began pacing."Hmm, they have no paratroopers though they have some Special Forces, we will need to hit as many of them in the barracks as we can. Their last invasion was from the north, overland, from the Republic of the Congo, in 1975, not likely to happen this time, though I may have my 'Brother' weasel up a battalion of Indian paratroopers to act as convincing peacekeepers after the initial take over.""Perhaps we can recruit some Vietnamese. I'm sure they'll love fighting in someone else's jungle for a change. We'll need some of 'our' guys to seize the port of Soyo, it is on the wrong side of the river, but has the major refinery the Cabindans will need. Since the entire surrounding province are the same ethnic make-up as the Cabindans, we'll have to take that too.""Man-o-man, I bet by the time this is over they'll really wish they'd given little Cabinda independence back in 1975. As for their other refinery, it is in their capital, Luanda, a few big explosions there too will get the markets jittery. Check that ~ the complete and utter destruction of their major petroleum facility will create a stampede for Peace," I continued. I walked over as our resident computer intelligence genius worked his magic."Blowing things up, you mean killing people," the nun blanched."Yes. This is what I do," I spared her a sympathetic glance. "I've got a madman roaming around in my head who provides me truly epic military advice which normally, but not always, means blowing shit up and killing folks. Welcome to the team," then as the data appeared, "Holy Shit! Did they build their oil refinery in the midst of their ghetto?" I was staggered. The refinery in Soyo was isolated from the town so it could be easily (and safely) seized. It was the one in Luanda which was the 'Holy Shit' site."It looks that way," Agent-86 agreed nonplussed. "Hmm, yeah, here is the port facility then your neighborhood of shoddily constructed one- and two-story dwellings between the refinery and the inland storage tanks, the perimeter barrier appears to be a chain link fence. I'd hate to be their Chief of Security.""Oh yeah," I choked. Estere slipped around to get a look."Whoops," she snorted."What are these people thinking?" I continued. "The whole shebang is exposed to the northern quarter of the city. The storage tanks have residential dwellings on all four sides with numerous side streets. Two teams with RPGs and four rounds apiece, Holy Crap. Sorry Sister.""But I want to save lives," she sputtered."Limiting the collateral damage could be pretty tough," Estere frowned. She toggled throw a series of maps to multiple pictures."Oh, look (dripping sarcasm); they light up the refinery at night. You can sit off the coast in a speed boat under cover of darkness and attack from there," she noted."Damn. Those are a lot of lights," Agent-86 agreed."24-7 operation," I suspected."We will need some experts," the government agent nodded."Or we are going to kill a fuck-load of innocent people. Not just the workers, but can you imagine a fire spreading to those neighborhoods? Shit," I muttered."You can't seriously be contemplating doing something like this," the nun sputtered. "It is inhumane. Think of the families, the children.""Lady, yes I am. Do you have any idea what the Human Rights record of the Angolan Army in Cabinda is? It is truly horrific and in case you missed it, one of the guys in dire need of rescuing by me, due to him being a huge rebel leader who has managed to escape, is also a Catholic priest. He's going to be part of the new government we are going to install once we kill a few hundred Angolans ~ mostly soldiers (more like well over a thousand).""We are going to kill a few hundred so a few hundred thousand can live free, democratic lives without worrying about the local police and political establishment torturing and murdering them. It is all part of the plan.""I think I need to talk with the Bishop.""Hang on. Let me finish," I forestalled her. "He'll get briefed along with everyone else. After all, it is a majority Roman Catholic country as is Angola, so I'm sure your guy can be of immense help.""The people you are putting at risk don't deserve this," she protested."They never do," I nodded in agreement with her. "It rarely stops terrible crap from happening to them though."I felt sorry for the Sister. She thought the Bishop was going to put a stop to this. Poor girl; he was going to do the exact opposite. See, the two competing forces at play here were a communistic kleptocracy (currently ruling Angola) and Catholic liberation theology united with a Cabindan national identity dating back to 1885. At stake was 900,000 barrels a day of petroleum. That was a bunch of funding for somebody. Last I checked, the state run energy conglomerate had misplaced $32 billion, in just three years.Mind you, the Coils of the Serpent and the Amazon Host didn't want to help the People of Cabinda out of the goodness of their hearts either. They wanted cover for the importation of weapons and other war-fighting material so they could kill the Condottieri in Africa. If the rebel leaders-turned-legitimate government didn't play ball well, the Coils were in the 'assassinating people' business and somewhere along the line the survivors would figure out keeping 'us' happy kept them alive. Problem solved.It was Bishop Nicolé de Santis' job to facilitate that understanding. If certain people with Vatican credentials explained the 'facts of life' to the new regime a lot more lives could be saved, Catholic lives. In turn, he could work to make sure the new group in power wasn't nearly as corrupt as the gang we were tossing out. Better education and quality of life, improved infrastructure & security and a nice shiny cathedral, or two.We, as in JIKIT and our component members, didn't want to rule the country and dominate the people's lives. We needed the ports and the airfields with a blind eye turned to our skullduggery. Sure, there would be future considerations. Amazons and Coil members would be fighting and dying for these people's freedom ~ public recognition definitely not required. No; the Amazons wanted to be left alone in their deep jungle homes which was an isolation they basically already had. This was a future chit which said 'don't come looking'.The Coils? Let's just say in the future Cabinda would have embassies around the globe and if occasionally they wanted someone to slip through under diplomatic cover ~ they were good for it. And if the Cabindans ever needed help in the future they knew they had friends in dark places who were now invested in Cabinda's survival. It was a win-win-win, unless you were an Angolan big-wig, or one of their foot-soldier currently serving in Cabinda. Amazons weren't big on taking prisoners, or even giving the opposition the option of giving up.For me, it wasn't lunch yet and here I was plotting to overthrow yet another government in yet another country ~ though in only two, small provinces this time. Thank the Goddess I had the rest of the week

In this episode, Alyson and Breht welcome Brendan back on the show for the first time in a few years. Together, we dive deep into Leon Trotsky's Fascism: What It Is and How to Fight It, a sharp and urgent intervention written in the shadow of the Nazi rise to power. We unpack Trotsky's class analysis of fascism, the role of the petite bourgeoisie, his searing critiques of both sectarian isolationism and liberal class collaboration, and his insistence on the United Front as the only viable revolutionary response. Alongside historical context, we explore in depth whether Trotsky's framework still applies to today's far-right movements, neoliberal authoritarianism, Trump's Oligarchic second term, and a decaying capitalist order teetering on the edge. What does fascism look like in 2025—and what must we do to resist it? Outro Song: May All The Lower Realms Be Empty by Friends in Real Life ----------------------------- Support Rev Left and get access to bonus episodes: www.patreon.com/revleftradio Make a one-time donation to Rev Left at BuyMeACoffee.com/revleftradio Follow, Subscribe, & Learn more about Rev Left Radio HERE

In this episode, Alyson and Breht welcome Brendan to the show, a close comrade with a bit more sympathy toward Trotsky in order to be as fair as possible and get a fresh perspective. Together, we dive deep into Leon Trotsky's Fascism: What It Is and How to Fight It, a sharp and urgent intervention written in the shadow of the Nazi rise to power. We unpack Trotsky's class analysis of fascism, the role of the petite bourgeoisie, his searing critiques of both sectarian isolationism and liberal class collaboration, and his insistence on the United Front as the only viable revolutionary response. Alongside historical context, we explore in depth whether Trotsky's framework still applies to today's far-right movements, neoliberal authoritarianism, Trump's Oligarchic second term, and a decaying capitalist order teetering on the edge. What does fascism look like in 2025—and what must we do to resist it? Outro Song: May All The Lower Realms Be Empty by Friends in Real Life Learn more about, follow, and support Red Menance HERE

In 1917, Lev Bronshtein – also known as Leon Trotsky – spent 10 weeks in exile in New York City. The Russian revolutionary hoped to spark a socialist revolution in the United States, but found disappointment when American workers didn't respond the way he had hoped. Trotsky's time in New York is the subject of Robert Littell's latest novel, Bronshtein in the Bronx. In today's episode, Littell talks with NPR's Scott Simon about the author's family connection to the revolutionary, his decision to name Trotsky's conscience in the book, and the violence of revolution.To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookofthedayLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Phil reacts to the emerging story of a possible new British political scandal. Having come to power partly because Boris Johnson fell foul of Britain's tough Covid rules, did our current Prime Minister break them too and, if so, should it even matter? Phil's article from 2022 is also relevant here. https://thecritic.co.uk/im-done-with-po-faced-politicians/Then writer James Crossland joins Phil to discuss his fascinating and exciting book about one of the most dramatic - and scandalous - British spy stories of all time.Sir Robert Bruce Lockhart was an impressive figure: a diplomat, intelligence agent, conspirator, journalist and propagandist who played a key role in both world wars. He was a man who charmed his way into the confidences of everyone from Leon Trotsky to Anthony Eden. A man whom the influential press baron Lord Beaverbook claimed ‘could well have been prime minister'. Lockhart placed himself at the centre of world changing event during the Russian Revolution - and very nearly died as a consequence. Yet he died almost forgotten and near destitute, a footnote in the pages of history.You can buy James' book, and all the books we feature on the podcast here in our special Scandal Mongers shop, along with thousands of others...https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/rogue-agent-the-troubled-life-and-dangerous-times-of-robert-bruce-lockhart-james-crossland/7624180?aid=12054&ean=9781783968046&Please follow James here...https://x.com/DrJCrossland***We now have a Thank You button (next to the 'three dots') for small donations that help support our work***Looking for the perfect gift for a special scandalous someone - or someone you'd like to get scandalous with? We're here to help...https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/ScandalMongers*** If you enjoy our work please consider clicking the YouTube subscribe button, even if you listen to us on an audio app. It will help our brand to grow and our content to reach new ears.The Scandal Mongers...https://x.com/mongerspodcastPhil Craig...https://x.com/philmcraigTHE SCANDAL MONGERS PODCAST is also available to watch on YouTube...https://www.youtube.com/@thescandalmongerspodcastYou can get in touch with the show via...team@podcastworld.org(place 'Scandal Mongers' in the heading)Produced byPodcastWorld.org Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Margt er aðdáunarvert í sögu mannkynsins. Stórkostlegar uppgötvanir í vísindum, glæst listaverk og félagslegar umbætur. Því miður hafa átök og blóðsúthellingar einnig spilað stórt hlutverk. „Stríð er helsta hreyfiafl sögunnar“ - sagði rússneski byltingarleiðtoginn Leon Trotsky eitt sinn. Margir frægustu einstaklingar sögunnar voru herforingjar. Má nefna t.d. Napóleon og Alexander mikla. Að hafa stjórn á herjum og samræma aðgerðir á vígvelli er þó ekki hæfileiki sem öllum er gefinn. Í þessum þætti hefur Flosi tekið saman fimm einstaklinga sem hann telur langverstu herforingja sögunnar. Slakir leiðtogahæfileikar þeirra höfðu oft afdrifaríkar afleiðingar. Má telja fullvíst að þúsundir, jafnvel milljónir hafi glatað lífinu vegna vanhæfni þeirra. Miðar hér á ferðalag okkar um landið í janúar. Viltu heyra fleiri þætti? Kynntu þér Draugana á Patreon Vefverslun Drauganna Tónlistin úr þáttunum Umræðuhópur Drauganna á Facebook

Intro: Red Army is the Strongest - Alexandrov Red Army Choir Outro: You Fell Victim Further Reading Broué, Pierre. The German Revolution: 1917 - 1923. Haymarket Books, 2005. Carr, Edward Hallett. The Bolshevik Revolution 1917 - 1923. W.W. Norton & Company, 1985. Cohen, Stephen P. Bukharin and the Bolshevik Revolution: A Political Biography 1888 - 1938. Knopf, 1973. Deutscher, Isaac. The Prophet: The Life of Leon Trotsky, The One-Volume Edition. Verso, 2015. ——, Stalin: A Political Biography. Vintage Books, 1960. FitzPatrick, Sheila. The Russian Revolution. Oxford University Press, 2017. Kołakowski, Leszek. Main Currents of Marxism: The Founders, the Golden Age, the Breakdown. W.W. Norton & Company, 2005. Kotkin, Stephen. Stalin: Paradoxes of Power 1878 - 1928. Penguin, 2015. Rabinowitch, Alexander. The Bolsheviks in Power: The First Year of Soviet Rule in Petrograd. Indiana University Press, 2007. Serge, Victor. Memoirs of a Revolutionary. New York Review of Books, 2012. ——., Year One of the Russian Revolution. Haymarket Books, 2015. Smith, S.A.. Russia in Revolution: Empire in Crisis 1890 - 1928. Oxford University Press, 2018. Trotsky, Leon. Military Writings. Wellred Books, 2015.

The interview features Richard Poe discussing his book, "How the British Invented Communism and Blamed it on the Jews," where he delves into the complex historical relationship between Britain, Russia, and the origins of communism. The conversation begins with Poe explaining the impetus for his exploration of this topic, which stems from a growing public interest in the Bolshevik Revolution and the disproportionate emphasis on the Jewish role within communism. He references previous works, particularly by Dr. Stanley Monteith, who discussed the British propaganda efforts that sought to displace blame for the Russian Revolution onto the Jewish population, a narrative Poe argues is historically inaccurate given the British involvement in supporting the Bolsheviks. Poe reveals a personal connection to the Russian Revolution, discussing his grandparents who lived through the turmoil and the familial taboo surrounding their experiences. This background, alongside his thorough research into the British government's covert operations, shapes his perspective on the geopolitical influences surrounding the Russian Revolution. He elaborates that various factions within the British government used propaganda to obfuscate truths about the revolutions, laying the groundwork for a narrative that would ultimately serve British interests. The dialogue shifts as Poe outlines the role of key figures like Leon Trotsky, whom he suggests was a British agent. He discusses Trotsky's arrest in Canada during World War I and the mysterious circumstances surrounding his release, which allowed him to return to Russia and become a leader in the Bolshevik movement. Poe insists that the notion of revolutions being spontaneous uprisings is misleading; instead, he posits that they are usually orchestration from elitist groups with support from foreign intelligence agencies. As the interview progresses, Poe examines key historical events, such as the failures of the Gallipoli campaign, arguing that the British may have deliberately allowed that defeat to prevent Russian access to Constantinople and the Dardanelles Strait. He delves into the historical "Great Game" between Britain and Russia, which involved strategies of manipulation and influence fueling a larger narrative of world power dynamics. Notably, he highlights British Prime Minister Lloyd George's support for the Bolshevik regime as a means to fracture the Russian Empire, demonstrating how this was consistent with British imperial interests. Poe contends that British interventions, like the support for Bolshevism, were historically strategic rather than ideologically motivated. He posits that Britain's need for counterbalancing powers against Germany translated into a willingness to support groups that could destabilize Russia. The conversation further explores how Trotsky's role as a revolutionary leader intersected with covert British interests, ultimately raising questions about the ongoing influence of these historical dynamics on our contemporary understanding of global politics. Throughout the session, Poe expresses his respect for figures like Winston Churchill while critically examining their roles within these geopolitical machinations. He articulates the complex motivations behind military strategies and political alliances during tumultuous periods, drawing parallels to modern interpretations of global rivalries. By the end of the discussion, Poe emphasizes that the legacy of the Bolshevik Revolution and the machinations of British imperialism continue to inform present-day power struggles, leaving open-ended questions about the effectiveness and outcomes of these historical intrigues. In summation, the interview presents a rich tapestry of historical analysis interwoven with personal narratives, offering listeners an accessible examination of how the interrelations between nations and political ideologies have shaped the course of modern history. Poe's arguments challenge conventional narratives and invite a reevaluation of the roles played by various national and ethnic groups in revolutionary contexts. Follow Richard Poe:

“All the natural movements of the soul are controlled by laws analogous to those of physical gravity. Grace is the only exception.” … “It is necessary to uproot oneself. To cut down the tree and make of it a cross, and then to carry it every day.” … “I have to imitate God who infinitely loves finite things in that they are finite things.” … “To know that what is most precious is not rooted in existence—that is beautiful. Why? It projects the soul beyond time.”(Simone Weil, Gravity & Grace)“That's how the figure of Christ comes into this idea of the madness of love. It's that kind of mad, self emptying act completely. And it's the  one thing, she says, it's the only thing that means that you  are able to love properly. Because to love properly, and therefore to be just properly, you have to love like Christ does. Which is love to the extent that you, that you empty yourself and, you know, die on a cross.” (Deborah Casewell, from this episode)This is the third installment of a short series on How to Read Simone Weil—as the Mystic, the Activist, and the Existentialist.This week, Evan Rosa invites Deborah Casewell, Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Chester, author of Monotheism & Existentialism, and Co-Director of the Simone Weil Research Network in the U.K.—to explore how to read Simone Weil the Existentialist.Together they discuss how her life of extreme self-sacrifice importantly comes before her philosophy; how to understand her central, but often confusing concept of decreation; her approach to beauty as the essential human response for finding meaning in a world of force and necessity; the madness of Jesus Christ as the only way to engage in struggle for justice and how she connects that to the Greek tragedy of Antigone, which is the continuation of the Oedipus story; and, the connection between love, justice, and living a life of madness.About Simone WeilSimone Weil (1909–1943) was a French philosopher, mystic, and political activist. She's the author of Gravity and Grace, The Need for Roots, and Waiting for God—among many other essays, letters, and notes.About Deborah CasewellDeborah Casewell is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Chester, author of Monotheism & Existentialism, and is Co-Director of the Simone Weil Research Network in the U.K.Show NotesSimone Weil's Gravity & Grace (1947) (Available Online)Deborah Casewell's Monotheism & ExistentialismSimone de Beauvoir's anecdote in Memories of a Beautiful Daughter: “Shouldn't we also get people's minds, not just their bodies? Weil: “You've never been hungry have you?”Leon Trotsky yells violently at WeilThe odd idolizing of Weil without paying attention to her writing”You get a kind of, as you say, a kind of odd idolization of her, or a sense in which  you can't then interact so critically   or systematically with her philosophy, because her figure stands in the way so much, and the kind of the respect that people have.”Anti-Semitism despite JewishnessSimone Weil's relationship to food: an unhealthy role model“She'd reject anything that wasn't perfect.”Extreme germophobeExpression of solidarity with the unfortunateHer life comes before her philosophy. Being, you might say, comes before thinking.Weil's life of extreme self-sacrifice as “mad”—alienating, insane, strange to the outside world.“ I think an essential part of, to an essential part of understanding her is to understand that   world is kind of structured and  set up in such a way that it runs without God, without the supernatural, God's kind of abdicated through the act of creation. And as a result, the universe operates through necessity and through force. So left to its own devices, the universe, I think, tends towards crushing people.”Abandonment vs abdicationPeople possess power and ability and action—a tension between activity and passivityWeil's Marxism and theory of labor and workActivity becomes sustained passivityConsent, power, and the social dynamics of force and necessityI think she sees the best human existence is to be in a state of obedience instead. And so what you have to do is relinquish power over people.The complexity of human relationships“She was a very individual person … a singular, individual life.”The Need for Roots“And this is what I do like about Simone Weil—is that she's always happy to let contradictions exist. And so when she describes human nature and the needs of the soul, they're contradictory. They all contradict each other. It's freedom and obedience.”Creating dualismsShe is a dualistSimone Weil on Beauty and Decreation”Decreation is essentially your way to exist in the world ruled by force and necessity without succumbing  to force and necessity, because in a way there's less  of you to succumb to force and necessity.”Platonic idea of MetaxuWeil on the human experience of beauty—” people need beautiful things and they need experiences of beauty in order to exist in the world, fundamentally… if this world is ruled by force and necessity.”The unity of the transcendentals of beauty and truth and goodness—anchored in GodWeil's PlatonismWeil as religious existentialist, as opposed to French atheistic existentialist“ For her, God is the ultimate reality, but also God is love. And so the goal of human existence, I think, is to return to God and consent to God. That's the goal of human life.”“What are you paying attention to?”The madness of ChristThe struggle for justice“Only a few people have this desire for justice, this madness to love.”Existentialism and Humanism: “Sartre says that  man is nothing but what he makes of himself.”Making oneself an example“The real supernatural law, which is mad and unreasonable, and it doesn't try to make accommodations and get on with the world and deal with tricky situations. It's just mad.”Simone Weil on Antigone and the continuation of the Oedipus storySummary of the Greek tragedy, Antigone“And so Antigone says, the justice that I owe is not to the city. It's not so that the city can, you know, continue its life and move on. The justice that I owe is to the supernatural law, to these more important primordial laws that actually govern the  life and death situations and the situation of your soul as well. And that's why she does what she does. She's obedient to the unwritten law rather than the written law.”“The love of God and the justice of God is always going to be mad in the eyes of the world.””The spirit of justice is nothing other than the supreme and perfect flower of the madness of love.”The mad, self-emptying love of Christ“That's how the figure of Christ comes into this idea of the madness of love. It's that kind of mad, self emptying act completely. And it's the  one thing, she says, it's the only thing that means that you  are able to love properly. Because to love properly, and therefore to be just properly, you have to love like Christ does. Which is love to the extent that you, that you empty yourself and, you know, die on a cross.”Does Weil suggest an unhealthy desire to suffer?“ It hurls one into risks one cannot run. If one has given one's heart to anything at all that belongs to this world. Um, and the outcome to which the madness of love led Christ is, after all, no recommendation for it.”“But if the order of the universe is a wise order, there must sometimes be moments when, from the point of view of earthly reason, only the madness of love is reasonable. Such moments can only be those when, as today, mankind has become mad from want of love. Is it certain today that the madness of love may not be capable of providing the unhappy masses, hungry in body and soul, with a food far easier for them to digest than our inspirations to a less lofty source? So then, being what we are, is it certain that we are at our post in the camp of justice?”“ From a loftier view, only the madness of love is reasonable.”“Only the madness of love can be the kind of love that actually helps people in the world. Fundamentally, that people, even though they know it's mad, and they find it mad, and they would sometimes rather not see it, they need that kind of love, and they need people who love in that kind of way. Even if it's not the majority, people still  need that. And so in some way, the way in which  she is, and the way in which she sees Christ being, is indispensable. Even though the path that you have to go down has nothing to recommend, as she says, in the eyes of the reasonable world, nothing to recommend it. It's the only just thing to do. It's the only just and loving thing to do in the end.”Production NotesThis podcast featured Deborah CasewellEdited and Produced by Evan RosaHosted by Evan RosaProduction Assistance by Macie Bridge, Alexa Rollow, Emily Brookfield, and Zoë HalabanA Production of the Yale Center for Faith & Culture at Yale Divinity School https://faith.yale.edu/aboutSupport For the Life of the World podcast by giving to the Yale Center for Faith & Culture: https://faith.yale.edu/give

Works Cited Carr, Edward Hallett. The Bolshevik Revolution 1917 - 1923. W.W. Norton & Company, 1985. Deutscher, Isaac. The Prophet: The Life of Leon Trotsky, The One-Volume Edition. Verso, 2015. —, Stalin: A Political Biography. Vintage Books, 1960. FitzPatrick, Sheila. The Russian Revolution. Oxford University Press, 2008. Kotkin, Stephen. Stalin: Paradoxes of Power 1878 - 1928. Penguin, 2015. Nettl, J.P. Rosa Luxemburg. Verso, 2019. Rabinowitch, Alexander. Prelude to Revolution: The Petrograd Bolsheviks and the July 1917 Uprising. Indiana University Press, 1991. ——. The Bolsheviks Come to Power: The Revolution of 1917 in Petrograd. Haymarket Books, 2004. Reed, John. Ten Days that Shook the World. Penguin Books, 1977. Serge, Victor. Year One of the Russian Revolution. Haymarket Books, 2015. Smith, S.A.. Russia in Revolution: Empire in Crisis 1890 - 1928. Oxford University Press, 2018. Suny, Ronald Grigor. Stalin: Passage to Revolution. Princeton University Press, 2021. Trotsky, Leon. History of the Russian Revolution. Penguin, 2017. Wilson, Edmund. To The Finland Station. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2012.

While most of us know George Orwell as an authoritative critic of totalitarianism, few people know he was a committed socialist and a lifelong defender of communist Leon Trotsky. While he understood totalitarianism, he never understood socialism.Original article: The Complex Legacy of George Orwell

While most of us know George Orwell as an authoritative critic of totalitarianism, few people know he was a committed socialist and a lifelong defender of communist Leon Trotsky. While he understood totalitarianism, he never understood socialism.Original article: The Complex Legacy of George Orwell

&y and &ers Lee read Leon Trotsky's predictions about the glorious future of a 1930s Soviet America, in which tipping and chewing gum have been abolished. For the full episode support the show at http://patreon.com/theantifada

Anders and Andy of the Antifada discuss the recent revelation that Leon Trotsky refused to tip when he lived in the Bronx and then segue into a breakdown of his strange, wonderful and anti-chewing gum 1934 essay "If America Should Go Communist."

In this Sunday conversation, Amanda and Nate dive into a wide range of topics, starting with the riveting assassination story of Leon Trotsky. They transition to political dialogues encompassing RFK Jr.'s recent nomination and its implications, the complexities of labor unions, libertarian principles, and governmental role in public health and agriculture. Enjoy this laid-back, unscripted discussion that explores both historical and contemporary issues with humor and depth. https://x.com/AjaxtheGriff (00:00) The Assassination of Trotsky (01:55) Lessons from Trotsky's Life (05:32) PhD Journey and Future Plans (07:00) Trump's Cabinet Picks and Politics (15:19) Trump's Establishment Ties (19:08) Libertarian Views on Government (24:45) Unions and Worker Empowerment (33:39) The PRO Act and Its Implications (42:49) The Capitalist Boogeyman and Union Dynamics (44:06) Decentralizing Unions for Worker Empowerment (44:58) Public Perception and Economic Ideologies (45:39) Behavior and Belief in Political Ideologies (48:16) The Role of Libertarian Causes (51:52) Government Regulations and Market Dynamics (54:29) The Complexities of Agricultural Subsidies (01:03:53) The Debate on Food Additives and Consumer Choice (01:13:53) The Power of Grassroots Movements

Jake and Phil discuss Leon Trotsky's "Communist Policy Toward Art" and Gogol's "The Overcoat" The Manifesto: Leon Trotsky - "Communist Policy Toward Art" https://www.marxists.org/archive/trotsky/1924/lit_revo/ch07.htm The Art Gogol - "The Overcoat" https://www.fountainheadpress.com/expandingthearc/assets/gogolovercoat.pdf

In the closing days of this presidential campaign, you'd never know that the Chinese Communist Party is at war with us. In fact, as nearly two-hundred webinars conducted by our Committee on the Present Danger: China have documented, the Chinese Communists' warfare has caused us incalculable harm over many years. And they are now poised to add a shooting war into the mix. A Soviet Communist named Leon Trotsky famously declared, “You may not be interested in war. But war is interested in you.” According to the Wall Street Journal, the Harris-Biden administration's cultural Marxist focus on “diversity, equity and inclusion” has left the U.S. military demoralized and undermanned, clearly ill-prepared for conflict with China. American voters urgently need the truth about this perilous situation – and clarity about what the presidential candidates think, and are going to do, about it. This is Frank Gaffney.    

Capitalism is a revolutionary situation of the last stage of pre-history, and the potential and possibility for freedom, or else it is just what Hegel said history has always been: the slaughter-bench of everything good and virtuous humanity has ever achieved. Marxism defined itself as the critical self-consciousness of this task of socialism in capitalism, but this has been eclipsed by the mere moral condemnation of catastrophe. This happened as a result of Marxism's own failure, over a hundred years ago, to make good on the crisis. This pattern has repeated itself since then, in ever more obscure ways.  Chris Cutrone's Marxism and Politics: Essays on Critical Theory 2006-2024 (Sublation Media, 2024) span the time of the Millennial Left's abortive search to rediscover a true politics for socialism in the history of Marxism: the attempted recovery of a lost revolutionary tradition. Cutrone's participation as a teacher alongside this journey into the heart of Marxism was guided by the Millennial investigation into controversial and divisive figures such as Vladimir Lenin, Rosa Luxembourg, Leon Trotsky, Georg Lukacs, Theodor Adorno and the Frankfurt School, and Marx himself. The question of a political party for socialism loomed large--but was abandoned. Readers of these essays will find no taboo unchallenged, as every aspect of Marxism's accumulated wreckage is underwritten by the red thread and haunting memory of what was once the world-historical character of socialist revolution. Can this Marxist "message in a bottle" cast adrift by hisotry yet be received? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Capitalism is a revolutionary situation of the last stage of pre-history, and the potential and possibility for freedom, or else it is just what Hegel said history has always been: the slaughter-bench of everything good and virtuous humanity has ever achieved. Marxism defined itself as the critical self-consciousness of this task of socialism in capitalism, but this has been eclipsed by the mere moral condemnation of catastrophe. This happened as a result of Marxism's own failure, over a hundred years ago, to make good on the crisis. This pattern has repeated itself since then, in ever more obscure ways.  Chris Cutrone's Marxism and Politics: Essays on Critical Theory 2006-2024 (Sublation Media, 2024) span the time of the Millennial Left's abortive search to rediscover a true politics for socialism in the history of Marxism: the attempted recovery of a lost revolutionary tradition. Cutrone's participation as a teacher alongside this journey into the heart of Marxism was guided by the Millennial investigation into controversial and divisive figures such as Vladimir Lenin, Rosa Luxembourg, Leon Trotsky, Georg Lukacs, Theodor Adorno and the Frankfurt School, and Marx himself. The question of a political party for socialism loomed large--but was abandoned. Readers of these essays will find no taboo unchallenged, as every aspect of Marxism's accumulated wreckage is underwritten by the red thread and haunting memory of what was once the world-historical character of socialist revolution. Can this Marxist "message in a bottle" cast adrift by hisotry yet be received? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/political-science

Capitalism is a revolutionary situation of the last stage of pre-history, and the potential and possibility for freedom, or else it is just what Hegel said history has always been: the slaughter-bench of everything good and virtuous humanity has ever achieved. Marxism defined itself as the critical self-consciousness of this task of socialism in capitalism, but this has been eclipsed by the mere moral condemnation of catastrophe. This happened as a result of Marxism's own failure, over a hundred years ago, to make good on the crisis. This pattern has repeated itself since then, in ever more obscure ways.  Chris Cutrone's Marxism and Politics: Essays on Critical Theory 2006-2024 (Sublation Media, 2024) span the time of the Millennial Left's abortive search to rediscover a true politics for socialism in the history of Marxism: the attempted recovery of a lost revolutionary tradition. Cutrone's participation as a teacher alongside this journey into the heart of Marxism was guided by the Millennial investigation into controversial and divisive figures such as Vladimir Lenin, Rosa Luxembourg, Leon Trotsky, Georg Lukacs, Theodor Adorno and the Frankfurt School, and Marx himself. The question of a political party for socialism loomed large--but was abandoned. Readers of these essays will find no taboo unchallenged, as every aspect of Marxism's accumulated wreckage is underwritten by the red thread and haunting memory of what was once the world-historical character of socialist revolution. Can this Marxist "message in a bottle" cast adrift by hisotry yet be received? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/critical-theory

Capitalism is a revolutionary situation of the last stage of pre-history, and the potential and possibility for freedom, or else it is just what Hegel said history has always been: the slaughter-bench of everything good and virtuous humanity has ever achieved. Marxism defined itself as the critical self-consciousness of this task of socialism in capitalism, but this has been eclipsed by the mere moral condemnation of catastrophe. This happened as a result of Marxism's own failure, over a hundred years ago, to make good on the crisis. This pattern has repeated itself since then, in ever more obscure ways.  Chris Cutrone's Marxism and Politics: Essays on Critical Theory 2006-2024 (Sublation Media, 2024) span the time of the Millennial Left's abortive search to rediscover a true politics for socialism in the history of Marxism: the attempted recovery of a lost revolutionary tradition. Cutrone's participation as a teacher alongside this journey into the heart of Marxism was guided by the Millennial investigation into controversial and divisive figures such as Vladimir Lenin, Rosa Luxembourg, Leon Trotsky, Georg Lukacs, Theodor Adorno and the Frankfurt School, and Marx himself. The question of a political party for socialism loomed large--but was abandoned. Readers of these essays will find no taboo unchallenged, as every aspect of Marxism's accumulated wreckage is underwritten by the red thread and haunting memory of what was once the world-historical character of socialist revolution. Can this Marxist "message in a bottle" cast adrift by hisotry yet be received? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/intellectual-history

Capitalism is a revolutionary situation of the last stage of pre-history, and the potential and possibility for freedom, or else it is just what Hegel said history has always been: the slaughter-bench of everything good and virtuous humanity has ever achieved. Marxism defined itself as the critical self-consciousness of this task of socialism in capitalism, but this has been eclipsed by the mere moral condemnation of catastrophe. This happened as a result of Marxism's own failure, over a hundred years ago, to make good on the crisis. This pattern has repeated itself since then, in ever more obscure ways.  Chris Cutrone's Marxism and Politics: Essays on Critical Theory 2006-2024 (Sublation Media, 2024) span the time of the Millennial Left's abortive search to rediscover a true politics for socialism in the history of Marxism: the attempted recovery of a lost revolutionary tradition. Cutrone's participation as a teacher alongside this journey into the heart of Marxism was guided by the Millennial investigation into controversial and divisive figures such as Vladimir Lenin, Rosa Luxembourg, Leon Trotsky, Georg Lukacs, Theodor Adorno and the Frankfurt School, and Marx himself. The question of a political party for socialism loomed large--but was abandoned. Readers of these essays will find no taboo unchallenged, as every aspect of Marxism's accumulated wreckage is underwritten by the red thread and haunting memory of what was once the world-historical character of socialist revolution. Can this Marxist "message in a bottle" cast adrift by hisotry yet be received? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/politics-and-polemics

In this episode of Locust Radio we are flipping the script a bit. Instead of Tish, Laura and Adam interviewing someone, Tish and Adam are interviewed by Locust's own Alexander Billet. They discuss, among other things, the Born Again Labor Museum, Adam and Tish's ongoing sited conceptual art and installation project in southern Illinois. An edited and abridged transcript of the interview is available on Alexander Billet's substack. A note: The interview was recorded the weekend before President Joe Biden quit the presidential race and endorsed Vice-President Kamala Harris. Artworks, artists, concepts, histories, and texts discussed in this episode: Jean Baudrillard, America (1989); Walter Benjamin, “Theses on History” (1940); John Berger, Ways of Seeing (documentary and book) (1972); Joseph Beuys; Claire Bishop, Disordered Attention: How We Look at Art and Performance Today (2024); Nicolas Bourriaud, Relational Art (1998); Bertolt Brehct, “A Short Organum for the Theater” (1949); Bertolt Brecht, War Primer (1955); “Carbondale Starbucks Employees Vote to Unionize” (2022); Anna Casey, “Museum examines workers rights through art” (2022); Class and Social Struggle in southern Illinois; Andrew Cooper; Kallie Cox, “Born Again Labor Museum Offers Free Communist Manifestos” (2022); Ben Davis, Art in the After-Culture: Capitalist Crisis and Cultural Strategy (2022); Mike Davis and Hal Rothman, The Grit Beneath the Glitter: Tales from the Real Las Vegas (2002); Marcel Duchamp; R. Faze, “I Live an Hour from My Body” (2021); Mark Fisher, Capitalist Realism: Is There No Alternative? (2008); Eirc Gellman and Jarod Roll, The Gospel of the Working-Class: Labor's Southern Prophets in New Deal America (2011); Francisco Goya, Disasters of War (1810-1820); Boris Groys, “The Weak Universalism” (2010); Jenny Holzer; Barbara Kruger; Michael Löwy, Fire Alarm: Reading Walter Benjamin's ‘On the Concept of History' (2005); Frances Madeson, “At the Born Again Labor Museum, Art is a Weapon for the Working Class” (2022); Karl Marx, The German Ideology (1846); Karl Marx and Freidrick Engels, The Communist Manifesto (1848); Pablo PIcasso, Guernica (1937); Russian Cosmism; Penelope Spheeris, The Decline of Western Civilization (1981); Stop Cop City; Leon Trotsky, Their Morals and Ours (1938); Adam Turl, “Against the Weak Avant-Garde” (2016); Adam Turl, “The Art Space as Epic Theater” (2015); Adam Turl, “Outsider Art is a Lie” (2019) and Adam Turl, “We're All Outsiders Now” (2019); Tish Turl, “Class Revenge Fanfiction” (2022); Tish Turl, “Toilet Key Anthology” (2020); Tish Turl and Adam Turl, Born Again Labor Museum; Tish Turl and Adam Turl, Born Again Labor Tracts; The Wanderers/Peredvizkniki  In other news, the call for submissions for Locust Review 12 is available on our website, check it out.  Locust Radio is produced by Omnia Sol, Alexander Billet and Adam Turl. Its hosts include Adam Turl, Laura Fair-Schulz, and Tish Turl.

This week, Wes, Matt and Jeff talk Olympics, wrestling, and debate which food they each eat that other people think is gross. 

Joseph Stalin finally has the power he's been working decades to achieve. But as the new leader of the Soviet Union, he thinks everyone around him is a threat– even friends and defenseless peasants. And for some reason, Stalin can't stop obsessing about his old enemy Leon Trotsky. But, a devious plot just might rid him of his nemesis once and for all.Credits:Host and Executive Producer: Sharon McMahonSupervising Producer: Melanie Buck ParksAudio Producer: Craig ThompsonWriters/researchers: Mandy Reid, Amy Watkin, Kari Anton, Sharon McMahon, Melanie Buck Parks Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Returning to the New Books Network is Doug Greene, here to discuss his book The New Reformism and the Revival of Karl Kautsky (Routledge, 2024). Split into three main parts, the book first surveys Kautsky's own life and thought, starting with his early interest in socialist politics and turn towards Marxism, followed by a slow but steady turn away from revolution and towards reform, believing parliamentary procedures were the best road to social transformation. The second part looks at the works of Rosa Luxemburg, Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky, all of whom offer critical responses to Kautsky's reformism, and the reassertion of the importance of revolutionary thought to any Marxist project. The third and final part looks at the contemporary works of Lars Lih, Eric Blanc and Mike Macnair and their attempts to make Kautsky's reformist practice the central pillar of the contemporary left. Throughout, Greene argues that the real lesson Kautsky offers is the dead-end of reformism to any revolutionary project. Some other relevant readings on this topic include Doug Greene | Why Kautsky Was Wrong (and Why You Should Care) Doug Greene | Why Kautsky Was Wrong (LeftVoice interview) Harrison Fluss | The Prophet Avec Lacan Douglas Greene is a historian in Boston. He is also the author of the books A Failure of Vision: Michael Harrington and the Limits of Democratic Socialism and Stalinism and the Dialectics of Saturn: Anticommunism, Marxism, and the Fate of the Soviet Union. His writing has appeared in a number of outlets. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Returning to the New Books Network is Doug Greene, here to discuss his book The New Reformism and the Revival of Karl Kautsky (Routledge, 2024). Split into three main parts, the book first surveys Kautsky's own life and thought, starting with his early interest in socialist politics and turn towards Marxism, followed by a slow but steady turn away from revolution and towards reform, believing parliamentary procedures were the best road to social transformation. The second part looks at the works of Rosa Luxemburg, Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky, all of whom offer critical responses to Kautsky's reformism, and the reassertion of the importance of revolutionary thought to any Marxist project. The third and final part looks at the contemporary works of Lars Lih, Eric Blanc and Mike Macnair and their attempts to make Kautsky's reformist practice the central pillar of the contemporary left. Throughout, Greene argues that the real lesson Kautsky offers is the dead-end of reformism to any revolutionary project. Some other relevant readings on this topic include Doug Greene | Why Kautsky Was Wrong (and Why You Should Care) Doug Greene | Why Kautsky Was Wrong (LeftVoice interview) Harrison Fluss | The Prophet Avec Lacan Douglas Greene is a historian in Boston. He is also the author of the books A Failure of Vision: Michael Harrington and the Limits of Democratic Socialism and Stalinism and the Dialectics of Saturn: Anticommunism, Marxism, and the Fate of the Soviet Union. His writing has appeared in a number of outlets. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

Returning to the New Books Network is Doug Greene, here to discuss his book The New Reformism and the Revival of Karl Kautsky (Routledge, 2024). Split into three main parts, the book first surveys Kautsky's own life and thought, starting with his early interest in socialist politics and turn towards Marxism, followed by a slow but steady turn away from revolution and towards reform, believing parliamentary procedures were the best road to social transformation. The second part looks at the works of Rosa Luxemburg, Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky, all of whom offer critical responses to Kautsky's reformism, and the reassertion of the importance of revolutionary thought to any Marxist project. The third and final part looks at the contemporary works of Lars Lih, Eric Blanc and Mike Macnair and their attempts to make Kautsky's reformist practice the central pillar of the contemporary left. Throughout, Greene argues that the real lesson Kautsky offers is the dead-end of reformism to any revolutionary project. Some other relevant readings on this topic include Doug Greene | Why Kautsky Was Wrong (and Why You Should Care) Doug Greene | Why Kautsky Was Wrong (LeftVoice interview) Harrison Fluss | The Prophet Avec Lacan Douglas Greene is a historian in Boston. He is also the author of the books A Failure of Vision: Michael Harrington and the Limits of Democratic Socialism and Stalinism and the Dialectics of Saturn: Anticommunism, Marxism, and the Fate of the Soviet Union. His writing has appeared in a number of outlets. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/german-studies

Returning to the New Books Network is Doug Greene, here to discuss his book The New Reformism and the Revival of Karl Kautsky (Routledge, 2024). Split into three main parts, the book first surveys Kautsky's own life and thought, starting with his early interest in socialist politics and turn towards Marxism, followed by a slow but steady turn away from revolution and towards reform, believing parliamentary procedures were the best road to social transformation. The second part looks at the works of Rosa Luxemburg, Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky, all of whom offer critical responses to Kautsky's reformism, and the reassertion of the importance of revolutionary thought to any Marxist project. The third and final part looks at the contemporary works of Lars Lih, Eric Blanc and Mike Macnair and their attempts to make Kautsky's reformist practice the central pillar of the contemporary left. Throughout, Greene argues that the real lesson Kautsky offers is the dead-end of reformism to any revolutionary project. Some other relevant readings on this topic include Doug Greene | Why Kautsky Was Wrong (and Why You Should Care) Doug Greene | Why Kautsky Was Wrong (LeftVoice interview) Harrison Fluss | The Prophet Avec Lacan Douglas Greene is a historian in Boston. He is also the author of the books A Failure of Vision: Michael Harrington and the Limits of Democratic Socialism and Stalinism and the Dialectics of Saturn: Anticommunism, Marxism, and the Fate of the Soviet Union. His writing has appeared in a number of outlets. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/critical-theory

Returning to the New Books Network is Doug Greene, here to discuss his book The New Reformism and the Revival of Karl Kautsky (Routledge, 2024). Split into three main parts, the book first surveys Kautsky's own life and thought, starting with his early interest in socialist politics and turn towards Marxism, followed by a slow but steady turn away from revolution and towards reform, believing parliamentary procedures were the best road to social transformation. The second part looks at the works of Rosa Luxemburg, Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky, all of whom offer critical responses to Kautsky's reformism, and the reassertion of the importance of revolutionary thought to any Marxist project. The third and final part looks at the contemporary works of Lars Lih, Eric Blanc and Mike Macnair and their attempts to make Kautsky's reformist practice the central pillar of the contemporary left. Throughout, Greene argues that the real lesson Kautsky offers is the dead-end of reformism to any revolutionary project. Some other relevant readings on this topic include Doug Greene | Why Kautsky Was Wrong (and Why You Should Care) Doug Greene | Why Kautsky Was Wrong (LeftVoice interview) Harrison Fluss | The Prophet Avec Lacan Douglas Greene is a historian in Boston. He is also the author of the books A Failure of Vision: Michael Harrington and the Limits of Democratic Socialism and Stalinism and the Dialectics of Saturn: Anticommunism, Marxism, and the Fate of the Soviet Union. His writing has appeared in a number of outlets. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/biography

Returning to the New Books Network is Doug Greene, here to discuss his book The New Reformism and the Revival of Karl Kautsky (Routledge, 2024). Split into three main parts, the book first surveys Kautsky's own life and thought, starting with his early interest in socialist politics and turn towards Marxism, followed by a slow but steady turn away from revolution and towards reform, believing parliamentary procedures were the best road to social transformation. The second part looks at the works of Rosa Luxemburg, Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky, all of whom offer critical responses to Kautsky's reformism, and the reassertion of the importance of revolutionary thought to any Marxist project. The third and final part looks at the contemporary works of Lars Lih, Eric Blanc and Mike Macnair and their attempts to make Kautsky's reformist practice the central pillar of the contemporary left. Throughout, Greene argues that the real lesson Kautsky offers is the dead-end of reformism to any revolutionary project. Some other relevant readings on this topic include Doug Greene | Why Kautsky Was Wrong (and Why You Should Care) Doug Greene | Why Kautsky Was Wrong (LeftVoice interview) Harrison Fluss | The Prophet Avec Lacan Douglas Greene is a historian in Boston. He is also the author of the books A Failure of Vision: Michael Harrington and the Limits of Democratic Socialism and Stalinism and the Dialectics of Saturn: Anticommunism, Marxism, and the Fate of the Soviet Union. His writing has appeared in a number of outlets. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/intellectual-history

Returning to the New Books Network is Doug Greene, here to discuss his book The New Reformism and the Revival of Karl Kautsky (Routledge, 2024). Split into three main parts, the book first surveys Kautsky's own life and thought, starting with his early interest in socialist politics and turn towards Marxism, followed by a slow but steady turn away from revolution and towards reform, believing parliamentary procedures were the best road to social transformation. The second part looks at the works of Rosa Luxemburg, Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky, all of whom offer critical responses to Kautsky's reformism, and the reassertion of the importance of revolutionary thought to any Marxist project. The third and final part looks at the contemporary works of Lars Lih, Eric Blanc and Mike Macnair and their attempts to make Kautsky's reformist practice the central pillar of the contemporary left. Throughout, Greene argues that the real lesson Kautsky offers is the dead-end of reformism to any revolutionary project. Some other relevant readings on this topic include Doug Greene | Why Kautsky Was Wrong (and Why You Should Care) Doug Greene | Why Kautsky Was Wrong (LeftVoice interview) Harrison Fluss | The Prophet Avec Lacan Douglas Greene is a historian in Boston. He is also the author of the books A Failure of Vision: Michael Harrington and the Limits of Democratic Socialism and Stalinism and the Dialectics of Saturn: Anticommunism, Marxism, and the Fate of the Soviet Union. His writing has appeared in a number of outlets. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/european-studies

Returning to the New Books Network is Doug Greene, here to discuss his book The New Reformism and the Revival of Karl Kautsky (Routledge, 2024). Split into three main parts, the book first surveys Kautsky's own life and thought, starting with his early interest in socialist politics and turn towards Marxism, followed by a slow but steady turn away from revolution and towards reform, believing parliamentary procedures were the best road to social transformation. The second part looks at the works of Rosa Luxemburg, Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky, all of whom offer critical responses to Kautsky's reformism, and the reassertion of the importance of revolutionary thought to any Marxist project. The third and final part looks at the contemporary works of Lars Lih, Eric Blanc and Mike Macnair and their attempts to make Kautsky's reformist practice the central pillar of the contemporary left. Throughout, Greene argues that the real lesson Kautsky offers is the dead-end of reformism to any revolutionary project. Some other relevant readings on this topic include Doug Greene | Why Kautsky Was Wrong (and Why You Should Care) Doug Greene | Why Kautsky Was Wrong (LeftVoice interview) Harrison Fluss | The Prophet Avec Lacan Douglas Greene is a historian in Boston. He is also the author of the books A Failure of Vision: Michael Harrington and the Limits of Democratic Socialism and Stalinism and the Dialectics of Saturn: Anticommunism, Marxism, and the Fate of the Soviet Union. His writing has appeared in a number of outlets. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/politics-and-polemics

Lawrence Freedman profiles the Fortune journalist and best-selling author who played a key role in shaping mid-20th century perceptions of strategy and the role of the corporation. Read by Sebastian Brown. Image: From left to right: Dorothy McDonald (wife of John, née Eisner), Leon Trotsky and John McDonald in Coyoacan, Mexico, in the 1930s. McDonald was recruited to help defend Trotsky from charges made at Stalin's show trials. Credit: General Collection, Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Yale University

During the summer break, the 15-Minute History podcast team are republishing some of their favorite episodes and discussions. This episode and discussion about Joseph Stalin, originally aired on February 14, 2022. ___ The great revolutionary's body lay in a red coffin as it wound its way through the streets of Moscow toward the House of Trade Unions. Six men carried it, surrounded by a phalanx of guards, through the gathered throng of mourners—some genuine, others paid. Each hoped to succeed Vladimir Lenin as leader of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, but only one could, and did. The mustachioed man known to his friends as "Koba" who had spent decades fighting to bring communism to his homeland was now General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and he held in his hands the keys to ultimate power in the world's largest state. His rivals, especially Lenin's closest ally Leon Trotsky, were already plotting against him, but the general secretary controlled the Party's political apparatus and had the support of leaders across the country. When Lenin was laid to rest, three men formed an uneasy alliance, a troika, to rule collectively, but Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was determined to rule alone. Join us as we teach you about Joseph Stalin, his life, rise to power, and his lasting effect on our world today.  --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/15minutehistory/support

2+ Hours of DramaFirst a look at this day in History.Then Crime Classics, originally broadcast June 9, 1954, 70 years ago, The Assassination Of Leon Trotsky.  The Mexican murder of the Russian revolutionary. Followed by Broadway is my Beat starring Larry Thor, originally broadcast June 9, 1951, 73 years ago, The Earl Lawson Murder Case.  A wealthy man named Earl Lawson has been murdered in Times Square by a man with only a month to live. Then Barrie Craig Confidential Investigator starring William Gargan, originally broadcast June 9, 1955, 69 years ago, Sucker Bait.  A top ranked basketball team suddenly loses two straight games to horrible teams.  The Dean wants to know if someone's fixing the games.Followed by Suspense, originally broadcast June 9, 1952, 72 years ago, Concerto for Killer and Eyewitnesses starring producer/director Elliot Lewis.  An escaped killer swears revenge...and nearly succeeds in getting it.Finally Superman, originally broadcast June 9, 1941, 83 years ago, Dr Deutch and the Radium Mine.   Superman prevents a ship from hitting the reef. Dr. Deutch is determined to get his twelve ounces of radium and rule the world!Thanks to Robert for supporting our podcast by using the Buy Me a Coffee function at http://classicradio.streamIf you like what we do here, visit our friend Jay at http://radio.macinmind.com for great old time radio shows 24 hours a day. 

Join Lianne and Zak as they unravel the vibrant and tumultuous life of Frida Kahlo, one of the most iconic artists to emerge from Mexico City. Delving into her remarkable journey, we'll explore Kahlo's profound artworks, from her riveting self-portraits to the themes of identity, pain, and resilience that define her legacy. Beyond the canvas, we delve into Frida's complex relationships, including her passionate but troubled marriage to Diego Rivera and her affairs with notable figures like Josephine Baker and Leon Trotsky. Amidst her personal struggles and health battles, Frida's spirit and creativity flourished, leaving an indelible mark on the art world. Follow us on Instagram: @notarthistorians Sources https://www.britannica.com/biography/Frida-Kahlo https://www.biography.com/artists/frida-kahlo-real-rumored-affairs-men-women https://www.contexttravel.com/blog/articles/frida-kahlo-diego-rivera-life-story https://www.grunge.com/195124/the-tragic-real-life-story-of-frida-kahlo/ https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/paul-cezanne-mural-discovery-aix-en-provance-1234696945/ "Danse Macabre" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Hey, y'all! We are back on the 2024 election beat and this week we are talking about the presidential nominees for the Socialist Workers Party. Join us as we dive into the drama-filled, nonsensical, and outright infuriating history of the SWP & the people most appropriately suited to represent them in 2024.

[originally published on Patreon Dec 18, 2022] Today's the third episode examining the life of Leon Trotsky, and I'm joined by Comrade Chad. We discuss Trotsky's activities in exile including work with the Soviet Opposition Bloc, terrorist actions, and the ensuing show trials. We particularly discuss the curious case of Genrikh Lyushkov, who overlaps with some of the Japanese intrigue from prior episodes, as well as more about the Promethean League, and everyone's favorite topic: outright collaboration with the fascists.  We cover the French Turn, touch on the Chinese and Vietnamese Trots, try not to relitigate the Spanish Civil War, and introduce the cast of characters (pay attention) who will become important in the US Trotskyist movement. Finally, we discuss Trotsky's time in Mexico, including the very impartial American Committee for the Defense of Leon Trotsky and some outright snitch shit for HUAC. Not the end of the Trotskyism series but the end for Leon Trotsky. Premium Episode 55 Songs: Сталину Слава! by Dolmatovsky / Shostakovich War of the Gods by Amon Amarth No More Heroes by the Stranglers Survival by Shakewell and Fat Nick

[originally published on Patreon Dec 10, 2022] Today's the second episode examining the life of Leon Trotsky, and I'm joined by Comrade Chad. We discuss Trotsky's post-revolution and post-civil war activities, the curious case of Soviet gold reserves and Trotsky's much-disputed Opposition Bloc. We also talk about the Trust, aka the honeypot to end all honeypots, and Trotsky's jockeying for power.  Songs: All Gold Everything by Trinidad James (remixed by Ryan Celsius) Snakes in the Grass by Waka Flocka Flame Slidin' by 21 Savage (the Catch-22 ska album about Trotsky was too cringe to use, sorry)

[originally published on Patreon Dec 4, 2022] Today's the first of a new series examining the legacy of Trotskyism through a parapolitical lens, and to kick it off, we examine the life of Leon Trotsky. I'm joined by Comrade Chad to discuss Trotsky's early life and career through the Bolshevik revolution. Particularly of note are the activities of Trotsky's uncles, his revolutionary activities in France, and his interesting residency in New York City.  Songs: Lev Bronstein by the Redskins If I Were a Rich Man - Fiddler on the Roof Bring It Down by the Redskins Reds Strike the Blues by the Redskins

Masha Gessen in a New Yorker essay draws a parallel between the Warsaw Ghetto in Nazi-occupied Poland and the Gaza Strip, where Israel's long siege is now escalating to genocide. Some Israeli military tactics in Gaza mirror those of the Nazis in Warsaw. Yet, while some voices on the ostensible "left" go so far as to glorify Hamas, Israel's online partisans are drawing a parallel that reverses the roles, depicting Hamas as the new Nazis. In fact, in a case of paradoxical fascistic pseudo-anti-fascism, the genocidal rhetoric of figures such as hardline Israeli cabinet member Bezalel Smotrich dehumanizes the victims by portraying all Gazans as Nazis. In Episode 223 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg turns to the words of Leon Trotsky and Albert Camus to make sense of the seeming contradiction. Listen on SoundCloud or via Patreon. https://www.patreon.com/countervortex Production by Chris Rywalt We ask listeners to donate just $1 per weekly podcast via Patreon -- or $2 for our new special offer! We now have 61 subscribers. If you appreciate our work, please become Number 62!

There are very few places as divisive in today's church as the potluck lunch. When visitors come to our churches we are likely to hear them proclaim about their food orthodoxy before they say anything about their theology or church background. Tim and Andrew offer some helpful commentary about how to keep food from dividing the church. Show NotesThe man Tim was trying to remember mentioned during the recording was Jerome Irving Rodale founder of the magazine, Organic Farming and Gardening, and also Rodale Press. The talk show host Dick Cavett tells the story:MAY 3, 2007,  6:33 PMWhen That Guy Died on My Show (interview with Dick Cavett)When I'm doing an appearance somewhere and taking questions from the audience, I can always count on: “Tell about the guy who died on your show!” I generally say, “I will, and I promise you that in a few moments you will be laughing.” (That gets a laugh.) I go on: “First, who would be the logical person to drop dead on a television show? A health expert.” (Laugh.) I go on to explain that he was Jerome I. Rodale, the publisher of (among other things) Today's Health Magazine. (Laugh.) The irony gets thicker.He'd been on the cover of The New York Times Magazine that Sunday, and we needed one more guest. He was a slight man, and looked like Leon Trotsky with the little goatee.He was extremely funny for half an hour, talking about health foods, and as a friendly gesture he offered me some of his special asparagus, boiled in urine. I think I said, “Anybody's we know?” while making a mental note to have him back.I brought out the next guest, Pete Hamill, whose column ran in The New York Post. Rodale moved “down one” to the couch. As Pete and I began to chat, Mr. Rodale suddenly made a snoring sound, which got a laugh.Comics would sometimes do that for a laugh while another comic was talking, pretending boredom. His head tilted to the side as Pete, in close-up as it happened, whispered audibly, “This looks bad.”The audience laughed at that. I didn't, because I knew Rodale was dead.To this day, I don't know how I knew. I thought, “Good God, I'm in charge here. What do I do?” Next thing I knew I was holding his wrist, thinking, I don't know anything about what a wrist is supposed to feel like.Next, in what felt like a quick film cut, I was standing at the edge of the stage, saying, “Is there a doctor in the … (pause) … audience?”Two medical interns scrambled onto the stage. The next “shot” that I recall was of Rodale flat on the floor. The interns had loosened his shirt and his pants, and were working on him. He was the ghastly pale of a plumber's candle.Other memories that seem to come in stop-frame sequence:- Two stewardesses in the front row who'd been winking and joking with me during the commercial breaks were now crying. I guess from their training and having seen emergencies, they knew the score.- Watching the awareness that this might just be real start to roll backward through the audience. Their reluctant awareness that this was not part of the show.- A camera man standing on his tiptoes, his camera pointing almost straight down on Rodale and the “action.”- Someone running onstage with a small tank of oxygen with a crucial part missing.- The bizarre feeling of denial that this must be part of the show. After all, we were in makeup and there were stage lights and a band and an audience that had been laughing and clapping only moments earlier.- Pete Hamill amidst the turmoil, as an ambulance crew arrived, calmly and professionally making notes in his reporter's notebook. (He got a memorable column for the next day.)- Finding myself in a fog in my dressing room, discovering a few strange objects in my pocket that someone must have handed me. A ChapStick, a watch and some keys, clearly from the dead man's pockets.- A voice in the alley as I got in the car: “Hey, Dick, was that for real?”I went home and looked up Robert Frost's poem “Out, Out —,” which contains the words, “… And they, since they/ Were not the one dead, turned to their affairs.”The next morning, I called my mentor and former boss, Johnny Carson. The story was all over the news. I asked Johnny how I could ever do another show. “It's like Kennedy's death, isn't it, Richard?” he said. “You wondered how anybody could ever do another show. This won't sound very profound but you just go out and do it. And you'll get a couple of surprises.”That night I told the whole story in the (comedy) monologue spot. No laughs then. I dreaded coming back from commercial.No one referred to the tragic happening, and everything meant to be funny got what seemed clearly to be larger than usual laughs. This, it turned out, was the main surprise Johnny knew was in store for me. Everyone was eager to get back to laughs.This is the topper: Upon warily deciding to view the sorry event a few weeks later, along with my staff, we noticed three things that, incredibly, no one had recalled Rodale's saying: “I'm in such good health [he was 72] that I fell down a long flight of stairs yesterday and I laughed all the way.” “I've decided to live to be a hundred.” And the inevitable “I never felt better in my life!” (The gods and their sense of humor.)From accessed February 17, 2024.Out of Our Minds Podcast: Pastors who say what they think. For the love of Christ and His Church.Out of Our Minds is a production of New Geneva Academy. Are you interested in preparing for ordained ministry with pastors? Have a desire to grow in your knowledge and fear of God? Apply at www.newgenevaacademy.com.Master of DivinityBachelor of DivinityCertificate in Bible & TheologyGroundwork: The Victory of Christ & The Great ConversationIntro and outro music is Psalm of the King, Psalm 21 by My Soul Among Lions.Out of Our Minds audio, artwork, episode descriptions, and notes are property of New Geneva Academy and Warhorn Media, published with permission by Transistor, Inc. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

January 31, 1928. Leon Trotsky, one of the architects of the Russian Revolution, is exiled to Kazakhstan by his longtime rival, Joseph Stalin. This episode originally aired in 2023.Support the show! Join Into History for ad-free listening and more.History Daily is a co-production of Airship and Noiser.Go to HistoryDaily.com for more history, daily.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The epilogue to the Palestine series is an essay from Max that draws upon personal experience and reveals what he learned from putting together these episodes. The conclusions are far from uplifting. In fact, they're dire. Resources Marxists.org: Leon Trotsky on Zionism  Council on Foreign Relations: What to Know About the Arab Citizens of Israel PBS: Parallel Realities - Resolution 242 And The Aftermath Of 1967 | Shattered Dreams Of Peace Wikipedia: Six-Day War Opinio Juris: The Biden Administration and the Golan Heights Al Jazeera: Mapping Israeli occupation | Infographic News Jewish Virtual Library: Vital Statistics: Jewish Population of the World Christopher Hitchens on Antisemitism BBC News: Golan Heights profile The Baffler: Unmaking the Myth of Ben-Gurion My Jewish Learning: Sephardic, Ashkenazic, Mizrahi and Ethiopian Jews JCPA: Ben-Gurion's Concept of Mamlahtiut and the Forming Reality of the State of Israel  Council on Foreign Relations: The Sunni-Shia Divide Council on Foreign Relations: What Is U.S. Policy on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict? Council on Foreign Relations: How Evictions in Jerusalem Led to Israeli-Palestinian Violence NPR: This is how the Republican Party became so strongly pro-Israel The Jewish Agency: Modern Zionist Aliyot The Weiner Holocaust Library: How did the Holocaust happen? Holocaust Encyclopedia: The Evian Conference Palquest: Interactive Encyclopedia Of The Palestine Question:  Issa al-Sifri UN: Faisal-Weizmann agreement/Non-UN document - Question of Palestine Palquest: Interactive Encyclopedia Of The Palestine Question: Musa Kazim Husseini  Palquest: Interactive Encyclopedia Of The Palestine Question: Great Arab Revolt, 1936-1939  Fanack: Historic Palestine: The Arab Executive (1920 -1934)  MERIP: Owen, Studies in the Economic and Social History of Palestine MERIP: Conspiracy of Praise Just Vision: Izz ad-Din al-Qassam The New York Times Archive: The Iron Wall: Israel and the Arab World since 1948 Jewish Virtual Library: Ze'ev (Vladimir) Jabotinsky Encyclopedia: Altalena Palestine Nexus Palquest: Abd al-Aziz Rantisi MERIP: The War of Numbers The Washington Post: War Casualties Put at 48,000 in Lebanon Office of the Historian, Foreign Service Institute: The Reagan Administration and Lebanon, 1981–1984 Al Jazeera: Who is Israel's far-right, pro-settler Security Minister Ben-Gvir? Blowback: How Israel Went From Helping Create Hamas To Bombing It HRW: Israel: Gaza Killings Unlawful, Calculated The Hill: Trump on Israel embassy move: ‘Evangelicals appreciate it more than the Jews' HRW: A Threshold Crossed: Israeli Authorities and the Crimes of Apartheid and Persecution Pew Research Center: Israel's Religiously Divided Society The Guardian: Red Cross and Vatican helped thousands of Nazis to escape Pew Research Center: The most (and least) culturally diverse countries in the world Mosaic Magazine: The Looming War Over Israel's Law of Return The Daily: Israeli Citizenship for Non-Jews - Exploring the Naturalization Process The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel: Discriminatory Laws in Israel Council on Foreign Relations: What to Know About the Arab Citizens of Israel Human Rights Watch: A Threshold Crossed: Israeli Authorities and the Crimes of Apartheid and Persecution Reuters: How Hamas secretly built a 'mini-army' to fight Israel Human Rights Watch: Israel: Gaza Killings Unlawful, Calculated Wilson Center: The US Discovery of Israel's Secret Nuclear Project Associated Press: With the world's eyes on Gaza, attacks are on the rise in the West Bank, which faces its own war Council on Foreign Relations: Conflict in Syria Reuters: Lebanon economic crisis worsened by vested interests, IMF says United Nations: Ethnic Cleansing NPR: Half of Gaza's population is under 18. Here's what that means for the conflict Mediaite: Former Mossad Chief Makes Shocking Claim on CNN: There's No Such Thing as ‘Non-Combatant Population in the Gaza Strip' Because ‘All of the Gazans Voted For Hamas' Committee to Protect Journalists: Journalist casualties in the Israel-Gaza war Book Love Rashid Khalidi: The Hundred Years' War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917-2017 Moshé Machover: Israelis and Palestinians: Conflict and Resolution Dennis Ross: Missing Peace: The Inside Story of the Fight for Middle East Peace James L. Gelvin: The Israel-Palestine Conflict Jeremy Wilson: Lawrence of Arabia: The Authorised Biography of T. E. Lawrence Jim Newton: Eisenhower: The White House Years Augustus Richard Norton: Hezbollah: A Short History Updated and Expanded Third Edition UNFTR Episode Resources Palestine: An Introduction. The Land Imperialism Left Behind. Palestine: Part One. The Jewish Question. Palestine: Part Two. The Palestinian Cause. Palestine: Part Three. Two states, one state, none. Phone A Friend: Rashid Khalidi, author of The Hundred Years' War on Palestine. -- If you like the pod version of #UNFTR, make sure to check out the video version on YouTube where Max shows his beautiful face! www.youtube.com/@UNFTR Please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts: unftr.com/rate and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com. Join the Unf*cker-run Facebook group: facebook.com/groups/2051537518349565 Buy yourself some Unf*cking Coffee® at shop.unftr.com. Subscribe to Unf*cking The Republic® at unftr.com/blog to get the essays these episode are framed around sent to your inbox every week. Check out the UNFTR Pod Love playlist on Spotify: spoti.fi/3yzIlUP. Visit our bookshop.org page at bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod to find the full UNFTR book list, and find book recommendations from our Unf*ckers at bookshop.org/lists/unf-cker-book-recommendations. Access the UNFTR Musicless feed by following the instructions at unftr.com/accessibility. Unf*cking the Republic® is produced by 99 and engineered by Manny Faces Media (mannyfacesmedia.com). Original music is by Tom McGovern (tommcgovern.com). The show is written and hosted by Max and distributed by 99. Podcast art description: Image of the US Constitution ripped in the middle revealing white text on a blue background that says, "Unf*cking the Republic®."Support the show: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/unftrSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The final installment of our series on Israel/Palestine covers the Arab Revolts of the late 1930s through present day, highlighting the agreements, wars, uprisings and accords that explain how the chasm widened between Jews and Palestinians, and why every attempt at reconciling the two sides has failed. It's a sweeping narrative that involves generational actors, imperial interests of neighboring countries and acts of violence, bravery and betrayal. Chapters Intro: 00:00:23 Chapter One: On the Precipice. 00:05:21 Chapter Two: No Turning Back. 00:15:31 Chapter Three: Six Days in June, Nineteen in October. 00:26:00 Chapter Four: The Politics of War. 00:30:00 Resources Marxists.org: Leon Trotsky on Zionism  Council on Foreign Relations: What to Know About the Arab Citizens of Israel PBS: Parallel Realities - Resolution 242 And The Aftermath Of 1967 | Shattered Dreams Of Peace Wikipedia: Six-Day War Opinio Juris: The Biden Administration and the Golan Heights Al Jazeera: Mapping Israeli occupation | Infographic News Jewish Virtual Library: Vital Statistics: Jewish Population of the World Christopher Hitchens on Antisemitism BBC News: Golan Heights profile The Baffler: Unmaking the Myth of Ben-Gurion My Jewish Learning: Sephardic, Ashkenazic, Mizrahi and Ethiopian Jews JCPA: Ben-Gurion's Concept of Mamlahtiut and the Forming Reality of the State of Israel  Council on Foreign Relations: The Sunni-Shia Divide Council on Foreign Relations: What Is U.S. Policy on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict? Council on Foreign Relations: How Evictions in Jerusalem Led to Israeli-Palestinian Violence NPR: This is how the Republican Party became so strongly pro-Israel The Jewish Agency: Modern Zionist Aliyot The Weiner Holocaust Library: How did the Holocaust happen? Holocaust Encyclopedia: The Evian Conference Palquest: Interactive Encyclopedia Of The Palestine Question:  Issa al-Sifri UN: Faisal-Weizmann agreement/Non-UN document - Question of Palestine Palquest: Interactive Encyclopedia Of The Palestine Question: Musa Kazim Husseini  Palquest: Interactive Encyclopedia Of The Palestine Question: Great Arab Revolt, 1936-1939  Fanack: Historic Palestine: The Arab Executive (1920 -1934)  MERIP: Owen, Studies in the Economic and Social History of Palestine MERIP: Conspiracy of Praise Just Vision: Izz ad-Din al-Qassam The New York Times Archive: The Iron Wall: Israel and the Arab World since 1948 Jewish Virtual Library: Ze'ev (Vladimir) Jabotinsky Encyclopedia: Altalena Palestine Nexus Palquest: Abd al-Aziz Rantisi MERIP: The War of Numbers The Washington Post: War Casualties Put at 48,000 in Lebanon Office of the Historian, Foreign Service Institute: The Reagan Administration and Lebanon, 1981–1984 Al Jazeera: Who is Israel's far-right, pro-settler Security Minister Ben-Gvir? Blowback: How Israel Went From Helping Create Hamas To Bombing It HRW: Israel: Gaza Killings Unlawful, Calculated The Hill: Trump on Israel embassy move: ‘Evangelicals appreciate it more than the Jews' HRW: A Threshold Crossed: Israeli Authorities and the Crimes of Apartheid and Persecution Pew Research Center: Israel's Religiously Divided Society Book Love Rashid Khalidi: The Hundred Years' War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917-2017 Moshé Machover: Israelis and Palestinians: Conflict and Resolution Dennis Ross: Missing Peace: The Inside Story of the Fight for Middle East Peace James L. Gelvin: The Israel-Palestine Conflict Jeremy Wilson: Lawrence of Arabia: The Authorised Biography of T. E. Lawrence Jim Newton: Eisenhower: The White House Years Augustus Richard Norton: Hezbollah: A Short History Updated and Expanded Third Edition -- If you like the pod version of #UNFTR, make sure to check out the video version on YouTube where Max shows his beautiful face! www.youtube.com/@UNFTR Please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts: unftr.com/rate and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com. Join the Unf*cker-run Facebook group: facebook.com/groups/2051537518349565 Buy yourself some Unf*cking Coffee® at shop.unftr.com. Subscribe to Unf*cking The Republic® at unftr.com/blog to get the essays these episode are framed around sent to your inbox every week. Check out the UNFTR Pod Love playlist on Spotify: spoti.fi/3yzIlUP. Visit our bookshop.org page at bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod to find the full UNFTR book list, and find book recommendations from our Unf*ckers at bookshop.org/lists/unf-cker-book-recommendations. Access the UNFTR Musicless feed by following the instructions at unftr.com/accessibility. Unf*cking the Republic® is produced by 99 and engineered by Manny Faces Media (mannyfacesmedia.com). Original music is by Tom McGovern (tommcgovern.com). The show is written and hosted by Max and distributed by 99. Podcast art description: Image of the US Constitution ripped in the middle revealing white text on a blue background that says, "Unf*cking the Republic®."Support the show: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/unftrSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Part Two of our series on Israel/Palestine turns back the clock to examine the time period from Part One but from the Palestinian perspective. By establishing the foundation of the conflict in parallel, it helps organize internal and external events that explain sympathies toward Jews and Palestinians alike. This episode digs into the cultural underpinnings of Arab society in the 19th and early 20th centuries and examines the fault lines that occur as a result of Jewish migration, industrialization, the collapse of Ottoman rule and fallout from World War One. Chapters Intro: 00:00:36 Chapter One: Origin Stories. 00:07:36 Chapter Two: Historic Palestine. 00:16:17 Chapter Three: Pan-Arab Nationalism. 00:24:25 Chapter Four: The Palestinian Identity. 00:36:01 Resources Marxists.org: Leon Trotsky on Zionism  Council on Foreign Relations: What to Know About the Arab Citizens of Israel PBS: Parallel Realities - Resolution 242 And The Aftermath Of 1967 | Shattered Dreams Of Peace Wikipedia: Six-Day War Opinio Juris: The Biden Administration and the Golan Heights Al Jazeera: Mapping Israeli occupation | Infographic News Jewish Virtual Library: Vital Statistics: Jewish Population of the World Christopher Hitchens on Antisemitism BBC News: Golan Heights profile The Baffler: Unmaking the Myth of Ben-Gurion My Jewish Learning: Sephardic, Ashkenazic, Mizrahi and Ethiopian Jews JCPA: Ben-Gurion's Concept of Mamlahtiut and the Forming Reality of the State of Israel  Council on Foreign Relations: The Sunni-Shia Divide Council on Foreign Relations: What Is U.S. Policy on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict? Council on Foreign Relations: How Evictions in Jerusalem Led to Israeli-Palestinian Violence NPR: This is how the Republican Party became so strongly pro-Israel The Jewish Agency: Modern Zionist Aliyot The Weiner Holocaust Library: How did the Holocaust happen? Holocaust Encyclopedia: The Evian Conference Palquest: Interactive Encyclopedia Of The Palestine Question:  Issa al-Sifri UN: Faisal-Weizmann agreement/Non-UN document - Question of Palestine Palquest: Interactive Encyclopedia Of The Palestine Question: Musa Kazim Husseini  Palquest: Interactive Encyclopedia Of The Palestine Question: Great Arab Revolt, 1936-1939  Fanack: Historic Palestine: The Arab Executive (1920 -1934)  MERIP: Owen, Studies in the Economic and Social History of Palestine MERIP: Conspiracy of Praise Just Vision: Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Book Love Rashid Khalidi: The Hundred Years' War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917-2017 Moshé Machover: Israelis and Palestinians: Conflict and Resolution Dennis Ross: Missing Peace: The Inside Story of the Fight for Middle East Peace James L. Gelvin: The Israel-Palestine Conflict -- If you like the pod version of #UNFTR, make sure to check out the video version on YouTube where Max shows his beautiful face! www.youtube.com/@UNFTR Please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts: unftr.com/rate and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com. Join the Unf*cker-run Facebook group: facebook.com/groups/2051537518349565 Buy yourself some Unf*cking Coffee® at shop.unftr.com. Subscribe to Unf*cking The Republic® at unftr.com/blog to get the essays these episode are framed around sent to your inbox every week. Check out the UNFTR Pod Love playlist on Spotify: spoti.fi/3yzIlUP. Visit our bookshop.org page at bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod to find the full UNFTR book list, and find book recommendations from our Unf*ckers at bookshop.org/lists/unf-cker-book-recommendations. Access the UNFTR Musicless feed by following the instructions at unftr.com/accessibility. Unf*cking the Republic® is produced by 99 and engineered by Manny Faces Media (mannyfacesmedia.com). Original music is by Tom McGovern (tommcgovern.com). The show is written and hosted by Max and distributed by 99. Podcast art description: Image of the US Constitution ripped in the middle revealing white text on a blue background that says, "Unf*cking the Republic®."Support the show: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/unftrSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Every story has a beginning. Every conflict has its roots. For some, the Israel/Palestine conflict is rooted in scripture and written in blood. Others claim it boils down to a deadly dispute over real estate. There's a reason why “peace in the Middle East” feels out of reach and why so many have thrown their hands up. It's complicated. But it's not impossible to understand. We begin our journey in earnest by tackling the so-called “Jewish Question” and uncovering the roots and motives of the Zionist movement. Chapters Intro: 00:02:16 Chapter One: Diaspora. 00:04:48 Chapter Two: Beyond the Pale. 00:09:33 Chapter Three: France, the birthplace of Zionism. 00:13:52 Chapter Four: A congress in search of a state. 00:22:48 Chapter Five: The Fifth Aliyah. 00:39:16 Resources Marxists.org: Leon Trotsky on Zionism  Council on Foreign Relations: What to Know About the Arab Citizens of Israel PBS: Parallel Realities - Resolution 242 And The Aftermath Of 1967 | Shattered Dreams Of Peace Wikipedia: Six-Day War Opinio Juris: The Biden Administration and the Golan Heights Al Jazeera: Mapping Israeli occupation | Infographic News Jewish Virtual Library: Vital Statistics: Jewish Population of the World Christopher Hitchens on Antisemitism BBC News: Golan Heights profile The Baffler: Unmaking the Myth of Ben-Gurion My Jewish Learning: Sephardic, Ashkenazic, Mizrahi and Ethiopian Jews JCPA: Ben-Gurion's Concept of Mamlahtiut and the Forming Reality of the State of Israel  Council on Foreign Relations: The Sunni-Shia Divide Council on Foreign Relations: What Is U.S. Policy on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict? Council on Foreign Relations: How Evictions in Jerusalem Led to Israeli-Palestinian Violence NPR: This is how the Republican Party became so strongly pro-Israel The Jewish Agency: Modern Zionist Aliyot The Weiner Holocaust Library: How did the Holocaust happen? Holocaust Encyclopedia: The Evian Conference Book Love Rashid Khalidi: The Hundred Years' War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917-2017 Moshé Machover: Israelis and Palestinians: Conflict and Resolution Dennis Ross: Missing Peace: The Inside Story of the Fight for Middle East Peace James L. Gelvin: The Israel-Palestine Conflict -- If you like the pod version of #UNFTR, make sure to check out the video version on YouTube where Max shows his beautiful face! www.youtube.com/@UNFTR Please leave us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts: unftr.com/rate and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @UNFTRpod. Visit us online at unftr.com. Join the Unf*cker-run Facebook group: facebook.com/groups/2051537518349565 Buy yourself some Unf*cking Coffee® at shop.unftr.com. Subscribe to Unf*cking The Republic® at unftr.com/blog to get the essays these episode are framed around sent to your inbox every week. Check out the UNFTR Pod Love playlist on Spotify: spoti.fi/3yzIlUP. Visit our bookshop.org page at bookshop.org/shop/UNFTRpod to find the full UNFTR book list, and find book recommendations from our Unf*ckers at bookshop.org/lists/unf-cker-book-recommendations. Access the UNFTR Musicless feed by following the instructions at unftr.com/accessibility. Unf*cking the Republic® is produced by 99 and engineered by Manny Faces Media (mannyfacesmedia.com). Original music is by Tom McGovern (tommcgovern.com). The show is written and hosted by Max and distributed by 99. Podcast art description: Image of the US Constitution ripped in the middle revealing white text on a blue background that says, "Unf*cking the Republic®."Support the show: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/unftrSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.