Midwest Socialist: Recent Episodes
Midwest Socialist
Midwest Socialist is the official podcast of the Chicago chapter of Democratic Socialists of America.
On a very special episode, the Midwest Socialist crew is joined by Jake Flores of Pod Damn America and professor Ann Robertson from DSA SF and Red Star SF to discuss the Vladimir Lenin's seminal text 'State and Revolution.' Considered by many as one of the most important texts in leftist literature, 'State and Revolution' poses challenging considerations on how Marxists should think of the role of a socialist government, the withering away of the state, and the crucial need for a proper analysis of capitalism in order for a successful revolution.
Find 'State and Revolution' Here: https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1917/staterev/
Ann's Pamphlet, 'Marxism vs. Anarchism: The Philosophical Roots of the Marx-Bakunin Conflict': https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XAhgLNa3C3rEjOLFcFwK19AoO5NlHnlO/view?usp=sharing
Join DSA Here: http://dsausa.org/join
Midwest Socialist on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MWSocialist
Red Star SF on Twitter: https://twitter.com/redstarsf
Jake Flores on Twitter: https://twitter.com/feraljokes
Sarah Hurd on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sarahjhurd
Matt T. on Twitter: https://twitter.com/foiaforlastname
Matt talked with Austin about his experience on DSA's National Political Committee, the International Committee, his hosting experience on Machete y Mate, and a shared identity over being Puerto Rican in the diaspora. A moving yet informative conversation!
Join DSA: www.dsausa.org/join
Find Machete y Mate wherever you find podcasts
Follow Machete y Mate: https://twitter.com/MacheteyMate
Follow Austin: https://twitter.com/Gaius_Gracchus_
Follow the International Committee: https://twitter.com/DSA_Intl_Comm
Follow Midwest Socialist: https://twitter.com/MWSocialist
Follow Matt: https://twitter.com/foiaforlastname
This week MWS Producer Brynn is joined by Matthew C. from CDSA's Democratize ComEd campaign to talk about environmentalism in the US, the state of the campaign here in Illinois, and how the snowstorm and power grid failures went down in Texas.
*One correction: The number of Americans who have public power today are 1 in 7, not 1 in 5.
**Correction: The Lincoln Park hedges debacle was the family who own MAT, another controversial industrial site located in McKinley Park that is also being resisted by local EJ activists.
To Learn More About #DemComEd Check Them Out Here: https://demcomed.org/
Follow DemComEd On Twitter: https://twitter.com/DemComEd
Follow Midwest Socialist On Twitter: https://twitter.com/MWSocialist
On a special episode Matt is joined by Ramsin and Jasson from CDSA to discuss the new film 'Judas and the Black Messiah', Fred Hampton, and the legacy of organizing from the Black Panthers to today.
Follow Midwest Socialist on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MWSocialist
Join DSA: www.dsausa.org/join
Follow Jasson on Twitter: https://twitter.com/IolaElla
Follow Ramsin on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ramsincanon
Follow Matt on Twitter: https://twitter.com/foiaforlastname
Sean Duffy talked with Matt about what they have experienced and learned from being a CDSA member to holding an elected position in the chapter. They also talk about the importance of not taking any shortcuts in our organizing work and what theory of change can help most in our success.
Join DSA:
www.dsausa.org/join
Join CDSA Defund Committee Here:
bit.ly/JoinDefundCPD
Learn more about Jane Mcalevey and 'No Shortcuts' Here:
https://www.dsausa.org/no-shortcuts-to-building-power/
Reform and Revolution:
https://socialistregister.com/index.php/srv/article/view/5272
Find Sean on Twitter at:
https://twitter.com/seanduffy_
Follow Midwest Socialist on Twitter at:
https://twitter.com/MWSocialist
We have a special episode this week! We have uploaded the audio from a recent teach-in hosted by Chicago DSA regarding the ongoing war in Yemen. This was a part of a national DSA action in coordination with chapters across the country.
Enjoy!
Join DSA!
www.dsausa.org/join
This week, Midwest Socialist Podcast producer Ali hosts Sasha and Whitney from the Chicago chapter of Sex Workers Outreach Project-USA. Learn how the struggle for the decriminalization of sex work and the fight to restore human rights for sex workers is happening in Chicago and across the country right now.
Important Links:
SWOP GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/supply-the-swopchicago-red-lightbulb-van
Philosophy Tube Sex Work video suggested by Sasha and Whitney https://youtu.be/1DZfUzxZ2VU
Whitney's FB: Facebook.com/whitnurse38138
Sasha's Twitter: https://twitter.com/xosashadarling
SWOP Chicago Twitter: https://twitter.com/SWOPChicago
MWSocialist Twitter: https://twitter.com/MWSocialist
Ali’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/marxxxinista69
Chicago DSA Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChicagoCityDSA
To Learn More About CDSA And How To Join: https://chicagodsa.org/
In a special episode Matt sits down with Kirsten, a teacher, and Dennis, a nurse, from Chicago Public School to discuss the city's attempts at school reopenings in the midst of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. They discuss the tremendous impact these reopenings have on their students, the families, plus the faculty and staff, and how the Chicago Teachers Union is fighting to protect the city from spreading the virus even more.
Follow CTU on Twitter: https://twitter.com/CTULocal1
Follow Dennis on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Dennis_Kosuth
Follow MWSocialist: https://twitter.com/MWSocialist
Follow Matt: https://twitter.com/foiaforlastname
Follow Chicago DSA: https://twitter.com/ChicagoCityDSA
Matt talks with Anais from Left Out Mag to talk socialist publications in a new era and giving a platform to black leftist writers. Plus, they talk about the capitol thing.
Follow Left Out Mag on Twitter: https://twitter.com/LeftOutMag
Follow Anais on Twitter: https://twitter.com/poor_nai
Find Chicago DSA Events Here: https://www.chicagodsa.org/events/
Follow Midwest Socialist on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MWSocialist
Midwest Socialist Pod Producer Brynn sat down with Jacobin's Micah Uetricht to help us usher in the new year! They talk about his book and the state of the left today.
Follow Micah on twitter @micahuetricht
This week Matt talks with Vicko from the South Side Steering Committee of CDSA and AFROSoC about the recent mutual aid efforts of CDSA and what the future holds.
The next event will be 12/20/2020 and you can donate here:
http://bit.ly/CDSAmutualaid
On this episode we talk with Jasson from Chicago DSA's Defund Campaign and AfroSOC to talk about anti-racist, abolitionist, and coalition building organizing.
For a link to Jasson's original thread click here: https://twitter.com/IolaElla/status/1330923402098581506?s=20
This week Matt sat down with Midwest Socialist producer Ali C. to talk gender, socialism, and the future of the Socialist Feminist Working Group in CDSA!
Matt T. and Carlos E. discuss a piece of theory and history from the past! They look at a classic pamphlet from the Bay Area Socialist Organizing Committee, published in 1981, 'Confronting Reality/Learning from the History of Our Movement'
Find the piece here:
https://www.marxists.org/history/erol/ncm-7/basoc/index.htm
Matt talks with Chicago DSA's Political Education Coordinator Sveta S. on the importance of education in our organizing.
Surprise episode! CDSA Comrades Mal and Max came on the pod to review Aaron Sorkin's new film 'Trial of the Chicago 7'
Matt wraps up the two part election special with Jake Flores from Pod Damn America and T from Machete y Mate to talk the election cycle so far, and more importantly what this election means for Latin America and what the future of the U.S. left looks like.
Content Warning: Sexual Assault
On this episode of the Midwest Socialist Podcast, Tara Reade gives a statement on her experience and feelings going into the elections, what her story as a sexual assault survivor still means to this day, and why the work to work make a better world is still necessary.
Then Sarah H., Ali C., and Natalia T. have a discussion on why socialist and feminist organizing is the only tool we have against the patriarchal capitalist society we live in today.
Matt talks with Margo and Joel from Chicago's 48th Ward Neighbors for Justice to talk local organizing and the future of north side grassroots politics.
This week Matt speaks with Obed and Radhika from Chicago South Asians for Justice to speak about the South Asian diaspora, anti-caste activism, and how leftists can learn from this work.
For more information on resources shared in the episode, check here:
Resources mentioned in the episode: -Equality Labs' Caste in the United States survey https://www.equalitylabs.org/castesurvey
-#RejectRaja: Campaign to expose Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi's ties to Hindutva organizations https://medium.com/@ChiSA4Justice/reject-raja-raja-krishnamoorthi-champions-fascists-not-communities-df156a745e6
-NYT Review: What Do America’s Racial Problems Have in Common With India and Nazi Germany? https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/04/books/review/caste-isabel-wilkerson.html
-Periyar and the eradication of caste https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Periyar_E._V._Ramasamy_and_the_eradication_of_caste#cite_note-1
-The Hindu: Periyar's trust with socialism
This week, Matt talks with outgoing Metro-Atlanta DSA chair and co-host of the Not Safe For Wonks podcast, Brandyn B. They talk about national solidarity and the future of DSA at the local and national level.
Matt sits down with Robin P., co-chair of Chicago DSA about her recent article at MidwestSocialist.com (https://midwestsocialist.com/2020/08/28/were-comrades-not-coworkers/) about comradeship and taking care of each other in a socialist organization.
DSA International Committee member Tom Wojcik talks to Matt about the ways his politics help him navigate these challenging times and what we have to be hopeful about.
Matt checks in with his friend Frankee who is in Poland and gives us an update on what's happening there and in Belarus.
This week we have Sarah Hurd back on the show to talk organizing during COVID and her experiences from this past year.
This week @tapia288 sat down with @abid_ivy to talk about tenant union organizing in Chicago. Follow http://findmylandlord.chicagodsa.org to learn more!
This week Matt T. sat down with Kenzo Shibata (@KenzoShibata) host of Class Time Pod (@ClassTimePod) and on YouTube at Class Time with Kenzo Shibata.to discuss his path to leftism, the legacy of the leftist movement over the past 20 years, and how the DSA may move forward in the future.
Kenzo's Link:
https://twitter.com/KenzoShibata
Class Time Pod Link:
https://twitter.com/classtimepod
This week, Matt T. (@tapia288) spoke with Aaron T. (@posadist_trpgd) host of The Vanguard Army Podcast (@VanguardArmyPod). Episode produced by The Casual Comrade with help from Sarah H.
Be sure to subscribe!
Illinois primary elections are March 17th, one week from tomorrow, and early voting is happening NOW!
In this episode, our host Dave Byrnes sat down with Anthony Clark, a democratic socialist candidate running for the U.S. House of representatives in Illinois' 7th Congressional District. Anthony talks about his recent Sun-Times endorsement, his view of the potential power of electoral work in a broader socialist agenda, and how to use the language of shared struggle to push for change.
You can check out Anthony's campaign and sign up to volunteer or donate here: https://www.voteanthonyclark.com/
You can follow Anthony on social media at @anthonyvclark20
You can get involved with DSA's #BERNIE2020 campaign here: https://bernie.dsausa.org/
If you live in Chicago, you can look up an early voting location here: https://chicagoelections.gov/en/early-voting.html
Or look up your registration information and election day polling place here: https://chicagoelections.gov/en/your-voter-information.html
This episode of the Midwest Socialist Podcast was recorded at the CDSA offices on Thursday, February 20th, 2020.
Socialism is often framed as a foreign ideology, but the United States has its own history of socialist movements. Sarah Hurd, host of the Midwest Socialist Podcast, talks to two authors about their explorations of socialism and American identity.
Paul Buhle guides us through the graphic novel he wrote about the life of Midwestern socialist politician Eugene Debs, and what we have to learn from those days.
And Victor Grossman will share the experiences he included in the memoir he wrote about his time as a McCarthy-era exile living in communist East Germany.
Chicago DSA has launched its chapter campaign to Democratize ComEd, Chicago's investor-owned "public" power distribution utility. In this episode, Sarah sat down with two Chicago DSA organizers, Sean Estelle and Sveta Stoytcheva, as well as Timothy Denherder-Thomas from Cooperative Energy Futures.
We discussed what it means to be a 'Public Utility' versus a Publicly-Owned Utility, the legal process of democratization, and the history and challenges of Minneapolis's fight to take back its grid.
The images of kids in cages shocked people across the country, but many Chicagoans don't realize that there are child detention facilities in their own backyard. We talked to CDSA organizers Dan and Sarah about their efforts to shame local non-profit Heartland Alliance into closing its facilities and re-uniting the children there with their families.
For more information check out: FreeHeartlandKids.com
FreeHeartlandKids
freeheartlandkids@gmail.com
And to sign up to demonstrate in their week of action visit Bit.ly/FreeHeartlandKids.
Organizers will be downtown demonstrating outside the Heartland Alliance headquarters at 208 S. LaSalle, Monday through Friday from 11am-1pm, and on Friday 4:30-6:30pm as well. At 2pm on Saturday there will be an action at the Rogers Park detention center at 1628 W. Morse led by Little Village Solidarity Network
You may have heard the news by now. Chicagoans just elected 6 members of Democratic Socialist of America to their City Council. I sat down with four Chicago DSA organizers who worked on the campaigns of some of our recently elected aldermen. Rebecca and Caitlin worked on the Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez campaign in the 33rd ward. Lillian served as field director for the one socialist incumbent who ran, Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35th Ward) and Robin was the field director for Jeanette Taylor in Chicago’s 20th Ward.
We discussed what worked, what didn't and what it means to have DSA members in elected office.
Within the global movement of working people pushing back against the forces of austerity and neoliberalism, Chicago is an important battle ground. It has become the poster child for corrupt politics and gun violence but also boasts powerful histories of union power and community organizing. The 2019 municipal election presents residents with a choice between the machine candidates of their past and a selection of new comers emerging from grassroots progressive movements.
We spoke to In These Times contributor Miles Kampf-Lassin about the effect that the rise of left social movements has had on the election and what people outside the windy city can learn from from these campaigns. His article for In These Times can be read here: http://inthesetimes.com/features/chicago_mayor_aldermanic_elections_political_revolution_social_movements.html
At our Midwest Socialist Live Aldermanic Candidate Forum we talked to 40th Ward aldermanic candidate Ugo Okere about his background in social work, the role of alderman as “organizer and chief” of the ward, and his work to make people on the far north side care about the struggles of those on the south and west sides of Chicago.
At our Midwest Socialist Live Aldermanic Candidate Forum we talked to 33rd Ward aldermanic candidate Rossana Rodriguez about canvassing until her feet go numb, comparisons to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, her own displacement from her home and how we create real public safety in our communities.
At our Midwest Socialist Live Aldermanic Candidate Forum we talked to 35th Ward Alderman Carlos Rosa about being a local left celebrity, the War on Christmas and his endorsement of Toni Preckwinkle for Mayor of Chicago.
At our Midwest Socialist Live Aldermanic Candidate Forum we talked to 25th Ward aldermanic candidate Byron Sigcho-Lopez about the current alderman’s misdeeds, why we need more activists in city hall and the similarities he has seen between working class people in Chicago and those in his native Ecuador.
In the state of Illinois, it is illegal to institute rent control but recently Chicago voters have repeatedly expressed their support for lifting that ban.
On this week’s episode of the podcast we spoke to Simone, a landlord and lifelong Chicagoan, who supports lifting the ban. We also talked to Heather McClaren about Chicago DSA’s work as a member of the Lift the Ban Coalition.
We touch on the history of powerful real estate interests in Chicago, recent trends in gentrification, how the coalition hopes to move forward and the arguments that are often made against rent control.
The “Lift the Ban” coalition is led by the Kenwood Oakland Community Organization, Lugenia Burns Hope Center, Northside Action for Justice, and Pilsen Alliance. Current membership includes: Action Now Institute, American Indian Center, Autonomous Tenants Union, Chicago Democratic Socialists of America, Coalition for Equitable Community Development, The Community Law Project, Lawyers Committee for Better Housing, Little Village Community Development Corporation, Metropolitan Tenants Organization, Northwest Side Housing Center, ONE Northside, People for Community Recovery, SEIU HCII, Somos Logan Square, 33rdWard IPO, 25th Ward IPO, United Working Families, and Westside Health Authority.
Abortion can feel like a taboo topic, but it's one we can't avoid discussing. On this episode we spoke to Chicago activists Laura and Lena about the history of reproductive rights in America and challenged them to respond to some of the most common anti- abortion talking points.
We also talk about the January 13th March for Life and the counter-protest put on by the following groups:
Chicago DSA ISO Chicago Refuse Fascism Illinois Single Payer Coalition Chicago Campaign to Expose Crisis Pregnancy Centers DePaul Socialists Illinois Choice Action Team Unite Women IL Chicago Therapy Collective
Sarah sits down with candidate for Municipal Water Reclamation District board seat candidate, and her celebrity crush, Geoffrey Cubbage. He tells her all about why you should care about our sewers and why you should stop being so mean to the Green party.
They also discuss hot topics like:
The great river reversal of 1900 How a sewage treatment plant works The sketchy dealings that almost kept this seat from getting to a vote Why Geoff is taking back the term “sewer socialist” For more information on the Greens for MWRD campaign visit: https://www.mwrd-ilgp.org/
And make sure to vote on November 6th!
Sarah spoke to Lynn Meissner, a PhD student at Northwestern's school of Education and Social Policy. Their research focuses on high schooler's transition to college and how to apply sociological data to school systems. She discusses issues facing the Chicago school system and the individual students and teachers within it. She also shares what she has found to be the best solutions for improving the experiences of those teachers and students (hint hint its SOCIALISM).
Sarah Hurd talks to Marianela D'Aprile about a translation she did of a speech by Chile's first Marxist President, Salvadore Allende. They discuss the historic election of Allende in 1970, his violent overthrow by CIA backed forces in 1973 and the lessons we can take from Chile's three-year experiment with socialism.
Marianela's translation can be viewed here: https://socialistcall.com/2018/09/11/allende-and-democratic-socialism/
Sarah spoke to Jose Requena and Loreen Targos of Pilsen Alliance about what gentrification is and what their organization is doing to push it back. We discuss the Illinois ban on rent control, affordable housing and what needs to shift in politics to make Chicago a city where people can thrive.
Sarah sits down with three leaders of Chicago's blossoming cooperative economy: Renee Hatcher - Director of the Business Enterprise Law Clinic at John Marshall Law School, Mike Strode of the Kola Nut Collaborative and Termaine Davis of Together Systems. What steps are people in Chicago are taking toward creating a solidarity economy? What is a solidarity economy? Also, neoliberalism, de-growth, the problem with TIF (Tax Incremement Financing) funds and Sarah debuts her plan to convince Jeff Bezos to turn Amazon into the world's largest co-op.
This week marked the 50th anniversary of the protests at the 1968 Democratic National convention in Chicago. Jacobin editor Micah Uetricht interviewed longtime leftist activist Joanna Misnik about her experience organizing in 1968 and in the years the followed. Misnik describes working alongside Allen Ginsberg, Abbie Hoffman and others, and tells us what she learned from their victories and defeats.
Sarah and André talk to Chicago DSA Political Education coordinator Ramsin Canon and co-host of the "Season of the Bitch" podcast Ambria Taylor about what Marxism means in our modern time. We define/talk about what terms like "alienation" and "materialism" really mean and walk through a timeline of how capitalism developed. We also talk about how Marxist theory can inform real world organizing.
On this episode of the Midwest Socialist Podcast Akele and Sarah talk to Black Lives Matter activist Maria Hernandez and Dorothy Holmes, whose son Ronald "Ronnieman" Johnson was killed by a Chicago police officer. We discuss the Justice for Ronnieman campaign, the NoCopAcademy campaign and other Black Lives Matter efforts across the city.
To support the First Annual RonnieMan Back to School Supply Drive, donate school supplies to the following drop off locations:
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Southside Together Organizing for Power - STOP. 602 E 61st St, Chicago, IL 60637 Monday through Friday, 10 AM - 5 PM
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American Friends Service Committee--Chicago 637 S. Dearborn 3rd Floor Monday through Friday, 10 AM - 5 PM
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Women & Children First Bookstore 5233 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60640 Saturday 10AM–7PM; Sunday 11AM–6PM; Mon-Tues 11AM–7PM; Wed-Fri 11AM–9PM
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Healing Village: Healing as a Radical Act of Resistance 63rd & Woodlawn
You can also contribute by purchasing items from the Amazon wish-list:http://bit.ly/RonnieMan
The drive will culminate in a Back-to-School party in Washington Park, AKA RonnieMan Park, on 53rd & King Drive on August 26th.
Aaron Leonard, co-author of "A Threat of the First Magnitude," spoke to Midwest Socialist about FBI infiltration of leftist organizations. Sarah also talks about a wildcat strike in Indiana and Rahm's latest half-hearted gesture toward police accountability.
Leonard's books are available through Repeater Books: https://repeaterbooks.com/product/a-threat-of-the-first-magnitude-fbi-counterintelligence-infiltration-from-the-communist-party-to-the-revolutionary-union-1962-1974/
On this episode of the podcast @sarahjhurd and Midwest Socialist editor and chief @charlesraustin talk to newly selected chair of Chicago DSA’s Electoral Reform Committee Jamal Abed Rabbo about his efforts to bring ranked choice voting to Chicago (and everywhere else).
We spent the first 13 minutes discussing a commentary published in the Tribune called “It’s the Spoiled Children of America Who are Drawn to Socialism”. So, if you’ve heard enough half-baked critiques of the new left, feel free to skip to the “technocratic babble” which starts at 13:30.
ARTICLES CITED:
http://www.midwestsocialist.com/2018/05/25/third-parties-cant-compete-without-electoral-reform/
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/commentary/ct-perspec-thomas-socialism-spoiled-children-0727-20180726-story.html
https://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/11/bernie-sanders-democratic-labor-party-ackerman
https://www.jacobinmag.com/2018/07/electoral-rules-third-party-ballot-line-ocasio-cortez-dsa
http://peoplespolicyproject.org/2018/07/22/nordic-state-ownership-of-enterprise-is-a-real-thing/
Talkin' Socialism is now Midwest Socialist! Lucie Macias, CDSA's newest chapter co-chair, talks about the change and what's going on with Chicago socialism.
We spoke to (very busy) CDSA Electoral Working co-chair Ada Vargas. First, a discussion of the recent action at Gary International Airport that stopped deportation flights for the day. Then, some talk on the election of Alexandria Ocasio Cortez means for Chicago politics, particularly the 2019 Aldermanic and Mayoral elections.
DSA member Danny Postel, assistant director of Middle Eastern and North African Studies at Northwestern University, interviews author Gilbert Achcar on the subject of the continuing consequences of the Arab Spring and Achcar's most recent book, Morbid Symptoms. Recorded July 10, 2018 at After-Words Books in Chicago.
Sean Duffy talks to Sarah Hurd and Erik Wenzel about Guy Debord’s Situationist manifesto, The Society of the Spectacle.
Forward Museums - https://fwdmuseumsjournal.weebly.com/
The noisy socialist feminists are back and they’re talking Incels, Loss memes, lobsters, feminism for men and taking off their shirts
CONTENT WARNING:
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rape threats/ sexual assault, violence against women
Lucie, Zach and Mary came to the CDSA office to talk about baseball. The Crosstown Classic CDSA softball game is June 23, 4 PM at Harrison Park.
We talked with Alícia Hernandez Grande about the great international sports events: the World Cup, the Olympics and corruption. Recorded live on location in a Chicago pub during the Denmark-Peru game.
We talk to Ryan Smith of the Chicago Reader about the economics of video game development and distribution, and Sean Callot discusses models of economic systems within video games, including Civilization, SimCity and the Sims.
Can you trust yourself to know what’s real and what’s fake? What is truth and what is propaganda? Sean Duffy sits down with media critic Adam Johnson of Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting and Citations Needed podcast to discuss how media reinforces capitalism, the fake news moral panic, and more.
The final episode in our month-long celebration of the spirit of '68 is an interview with Sharon Hoyer, General Manager of the Dill Pickle co-op in Logan Square. We talk about the co-op model, the struggles of keeping co-ops alive, accountability, transparency and working with local producers to keep wealth in the neighborhood.
This week, as part of our series on the fiftieth anniversary of 1968, we're talking about the utopian thinking that drove people to get out on the street and demand a better world. Philip Dinolfo discusses the utopian drive in science fiction with Colin Hill, CDSA Secretary, and with Hilary Strang, lecturer of English and deputy director of the MAPH program at the University of Chicago. Listen to Hilary talk more about the Mars trilogy on her own podcast, Marooned! on Mars: https://maroonedonmarswithmattandhilary.simplecast.fm/
One of the biggest forces in the left movement on college campuses and elsewhere in 1968 was Students for a Democratic Society, headquartered at the time in Chicago. We spoke to Bernardine Dohrn, Mike Klonsky and Susan Klonsky about working inside SDS, getting bugged by the FBI, meeting with representatives from the North Vietnamese and lending Fred Hampton a bunch of office furniture.
As part of our ongoing series on the fiftieth anniversary of 1968, Philip Dinolfo moderates a debate - anarchy vs. the state.
Fred Klonsky, co-host of Hitting Left (http://hittingleft.libsyn.com/), talks about his 1968 summer: Los Angeles, Chicago, Bulgaria, Moscow, London.
It's our month-long consideration of the 50th anniversary of the youth uprisings in 1968. Today Sarah and Jessica talk about being socialists in their 20s, organizing over Twitter, memes, podcasts, and growing up in the shadow of George W. Bush. It's the youth!
Chicago documentary filmmaker Judy Hoffman describes her experience working as a protest medic, helping people who were injured by the Chicago PD at the 1968 Democratic Convention. Part of our ongoing series looking back at the events of 1968.
All month we're looking back fifty years at 1968, the year a revolution almost happened, not just in Chicago but all over the world. We talk about three French films and what they have to say about the student revolt in Paris in May '68 - Chris Marker's Grin Without a Cat, Alain Tanner's Jonah Who Will Be 25 in the Year 2000, and Luis Buñuel's The Milky Way.
It has been fifty years since the summer of 1968, when Chicago was turned on its head by popular action and police violence. This month, we will publish the first-hand accounts of people who lived through that summer. At this year's May Day march, we spoke to Chicago documentary filmmaker Peter Kuttner, who worked with the Newsreel collective and the Mobe to record images of the protests that overtook the city.
For this episode we talked to a Chicago based sex worker about her experiences and the effect that the recently passed FOSTA/ SESTA legislation has and will have on her and other sex workers.
Because sex work is stigmatized, to protect her identity we are calling her by the pseudonym Kit.
For the first half of the podcast we discuss her views on the FOSTA/SESTA legislation specifically and in the second half we talk more about sex work as physical and emotional labor. As a feminist, anarchist kit brings a unique perspective to the topic.
***CONTENT WARNING: This episode discusses topics including human trafficking, sexual assault and abuse. It has not been censored for content or language.
For more information on how to fight FOSTA/SESTA check out @supporthosechi and @SWOPchicago
André and Eleanor attempt to have a wedding that aligns with their politics. We touch on themes of the personal as the political, tradition versus individuality, and the challenges of making a life together under capitalism.
Frank Diekman and Sean Duffy talk about war propaganda, and a vet of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars talks about combat and trauma. The first of two episodes on the subject of war.
We spoke with members of the CDSA Labor Working Group about organizing labor in Chicago and elsewhere.
Philip Dinolfo leads a roundtable on religion and atheism in socialism. We speak to Kimball Avenue Church pastor Bruce Ray and lead organizer for Seminarians for Justice, Samantha Nichols.
If you'd like to learn more about the campaign to secure mental health resources for Logan Square and Hermosa, please visit the Logan Square Ecumenical Alliance on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LoganSquareEcumencialAlliance/
The CDSA Electoral Working Group churns through the results of last week's Illinois primary.
Seven long years of civil war in Syria have displaced millions of people and empowered terrorists groups such as the Islamic State. But amid the chaos, a Kurdish-led coalition in the northern part of the country has established a self-governing democracy known as the Democratic Federation of Northern Syria, or Rojava, dedicated to a socialist feminist vision of society built around grassroots civic participation. In this episode, Chicago DSA’s Charles Austin speaks about the movement for democracy and equality in Syria with activists in Chicago and a member of the YPG combat forces in Rojava.
We invited all of tomorrow's candidates to come on the show, and only one has agreed - Renato Mariotti, who is running for Illinois Attorney General. We'll also be speaking with Mary Difino, who worked to get a collective bargaining agreement for Mr. Mariotti's campaign staff. This interview does not constitute an endorsement by anyone for anyone.
But all I see is films where a colorless despair meant angry young men with immaculate hair... If capitalism's got you down, you're not alone. Listen to Eleanor, Frank and Erik talk about their own experiences of depression in this week's episode!
In a skyscraper-sized new episode, we visit an Autonomous Tenant's Union assemblea in Albany Park, talk one-on-one with architect Keefer Dunn of Buildings on Air, learn about homelessness in Chicago from Adriana Scurto, and hear from a roundtable of housing activists about rent control.
Donate on the Bowletariat's team page here: https://bowl.nnaf.org/team/154789
This week we sat down with some of CDSA's most vocal feminists about their experiences as single leftists in the dating world. We got deep into the politics of dating apps, the importance of communication, non-traditional relationship set-ups and our hopes for a more socialist feminist future. But mostly we just cracked each other up.
Featuring Sarah Hurd, Lucie Macias, Rachel Zibrat and Laura Colaneri
**Things get pretty steamy so listener discretion is advised CW- BDSM
This morning, the graduate employees at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champagne went on strike. We spoke to campus organizers at UIUC and UChicago, and the Loyola YDSA co-chair, about educational labor.
Today we’re joined by three activists from the #NoCopAcademy campaign: Makeda Austin of Assata’s Daughters/BYP 100, and Maria Hernandez and Adrienne Davis of Black Lives Matter Chicago.
Eleanor Russell talks to a panel about multi-level marketing and the commodification of community.
Philip Dinolfo talks with the Chicago DSA jazz trio about socialist culture, and the band plays in our studio.
Gillian Hemme is on the program to discuss teaching theater to women prisoners in Cook County Jail.
I was looking for a job and then I found a job...Chicago DSA members describe the dehumanizing, irritating and unjust circumstances of their employment. Freelance writer, campaign worker, programmer, financial services, selling cookbooks over the phone. If it's a job, it's bullshit.
Sean Duffy and Sarah Hurd lead a roundtable discussion about 2017 with members of the Chicago DSA leadership, looking back at a year of massive growth and organizing in fallout of the 2016 election and the Trump administration.
Akele Parnell talks to Northwestern University law professor Sheila Bedi about prison abolition, and leads a roundtable discussion with Page May, founder of Assata's Daughters, and Jason Lydon, founder of Black and Pink.
Philip Dinolfo interviews Professor William Nickell about the centennial of the October Revolution, and Chicago DSA members read revolutionary texts at the Hideout.
Nicoletta Rousseva interviews Prof. Christina Kiaer about Soviet revolutionary art at the Smart Museum and the Art Institute of Chicago, then walks through the Art Institute with Erik Wenzel.
Tim Faust riles up a crowd, Kaitlyn Grissom interviews a VA doctor, and Sean Duffy talks about pharmaceutical commercials.
Today's episode features a roundtable of activists for single-payer health care, and a piece on the history of socialized medicine from Philip Dinolfo.
Tom Broderick, a good man and the longtime host of Talkin' Socialism, died on November 25, 2017. The Chicago DSA will continue Tom's show with a new team of podcasters. Today's episode is a tribute to Tom, recorded in his home on December 3, 2017. New episodes will be published every Monday.