The Regrettable Century
The old forms of the Left are moribund and the new forms are stupid. We're making a podcast that discusses the need to organize a Dialectical Pessimism and develop a salvage project capable of sparking a new workers' movement for socialism. A clean, honest, and unsentimental melancholy is required; we are cultivating one and would like to share it with you.
“The challenge of modernity is to live without illusions and without becoming disillusioned. I’m a pessimist because of intelligence, but an optimist because of will.”
-- Antonio Gramsci
- Update frequency
- every 5 days
- Average duration
- 53 minutes
- Episodes
- 315
- Years Active
- 2018 - 2025
No Royal Road: Neo-Feudalism, or the Fuzzy Edges of Capitalism (Part IV)
No Royal Road is back with part four of our discussion of Evegny Morozov's
"Critique of Techno-Feudal Reason."
Check out Varn Vlog here:
https://www.patreon.com/varnvlog
Patreon Preview: Velvet Counterrevolution & Divorce
Just like the Prague Spring, it seems clear that the intentions of its participants were the opposite. The vast majority of Czechoslovaks who participated in the movements that brought down the repub…
The Dialectic of Apotheosis: Lunacharsky and the Godbuilders
This week we discuss a couple of articles by Roland Boer about Lunacharsky, Lenin, and the project of godbuilding. This is our final episode with Mir before he goes off to Austria and Germany to lear…
Patreon Preview: Stalinism at War
Back again with another one, this time we are throwing one out to the middle aged men in the audience by talking about World War Two.
Edele, Mark. Stalinism at War : The Soviet Union in World War II.…
The French Conundrum (RE-UPLOAD): The Continuing Struggle Over Pension Reforms
We are joined by Matthew and Julia for a continuation of our discussion about the French pension reforms. Matthew is our old comrade and friend from the days of Trot hyperactivism and Julia is an act…
Patreon Preview: Revolution by Enzo Traverso, Part I (Regrettable Book Club)
Welcome to the first of our reading group episodes on Revolution: An Intellectual History, by Enzo Traverso. This week we discuss TRAINS.
Traverso, Enzo. 2021. Revolution : An Intellectual History. Lo…
No Royal Road: Neo-Feudalism, or the Fuzzy Edges of Capitalism (Part III)
No Royal Road is back with part three of our discussion of Evegny Morozov's "Critique of Techno-Feudal Reason."
Check out Varn Vlog here:
https://www.patreon.com/varnvlog
Patreon Preview -- Empire of Friends: Soviet Power and Socialist Internationalism in Cold War Czechoslovakia
We are back with more books Chris read in grad school. This one is written by Rachel Applebaum (no relation to Anne) and discusses the Soviet Friendship programs, their successes, and failures.
Head o…
You're Not Making Liberals Socialist, You're Just Making Socialists More Liberal!
This week we discuss why the left allows the liberals to set the tone for its politics.
Liberalism’s Hegemony Over The Left
https://www.counterfire.org/article/liberalisms-hegemony-over-the-left/
Deat…
Patreon Preview -- The Things of Life: Materiality in Late Soviet Russia
We are back with another book that Chris read in grad school. This one is an interesting read about the impact of material culture on the lives of late Soviet citizens called "The Things of Life: Mat…
Les Aristocrates à la Lanterne: The French Pension Reforms (With Matthew from A Fine Old Conflict)
We are once again joined by our old friend and comrade Matthew, who is currently residing in Paris. Matthew gives us the rundown of the French pension reforms and we talk about the prospects for the …
Patreon Preview: Neither Vertical nor Horizontal (Part IV -- Finale)
We are finally back with part four of our discussion of Rodrigo Nunes' new book on Verso. This week we actually finish the book.
Head over to our Patreon and join for $2 a month to hear the whole epis…
No Royal Road: Neo-Feudalism, or the Fuzzy Edges of Capitalism (Part II)
No Royal Road is back!
Varn joins Chris and Jason to discuss the second part of Evegny Morozov's "Critique of Techno-Feudal Reason."
Check out Varn Vlog here:
https://www.patreon.com/varnvlog
Setting Fears Afloat (Liquid Fear: Part III -- Finale)
The boys are back and we are finally finishing this masterwork of left sociology by heavyweight Polish intellectual and dissident Marxist, Zygmunt Bauman.
From the publisher's note:
"Modernity was supp…
No Republic is Safe That Tolerates a Privileged Class: On Marxist Republicanism
We return to the concept of the republic, this time with our comrade Brad who is a member of the CPUSA, a union activist, and first class republic respecter. Brad is here to make a pitch for the con…
Patreon Preview: A Failed Empire
This week we're discussing A Failed Empire: The Soviet Union in the Cold War from Stalin to Gorbachev which is a not very good book that advances a thesis that doesn't need to exist. Enjoy!
Zubok, V…
No Royal Road: Neo-Feudalism, or the Fuzzy Edges of Capitalism -- Part I
No Royal Road is back!
Varn joins Chris and Jason to discuss Evegny Morozov's "Critique of Techno-Feudal Reason." This is the first of what will probably be a multi part series.
Check out Varn Vlog…
The Dialectics of Wood Law: Marxism and Natural Law with Steven
Steven from Supreme Leap Forward is back and this time he's bringing his thoughts on natural law. For this weeks episode we read from Olúfémi Táíwò's Legal Naturalism and an article by Anna Lukina to…
Patreon Preview: Laboratory of Socialist Development
Happy New Year and welcome to a new series where Chris talks about books he read in grad school. This week we are reading and discussing Laboratory of Socialist Development: Cold War Politics and Dec…
The Boys Win the Culture War- With Matthew from A Fine Old Conflict
We got together with our old friend and comrade from the Trot sect days to talk about why it is that the nominally socialist left is so obsessed with liberal culture war discourse.
Music: Embrace- M…