Rev Left Radio – Détails, épisodes et analyse

This is an unlocked patreon episode. To support the show and get access to monthly bonus episodes like this one, join our patreon: www.patreon.com/revleftradio

In this unlocked Patreon episode, Breht reads and responds to an article in the Tehran Times on the NYC mayoral race and left strategy around Palestine, then he plays and analyzes a Kurzgesagt video on the science and experience of marijuana dependency in your 20s and 30s, and finally Breht discusses his ongoing grieving process surrounding his Dad's death and the life lessons he's learned in the wake of it. In the process, he articulates what we need in left leaders, cultivating psychological resilience, the importance of sobriety as a baseline, the benefits of behavioral moderation, accepting worse case scenarios in life, the sweetness inherent in grief, dead loved ones visiting you in dreams, and much more.

----------------------------------------------------

Make a one-time donation to Rev Left at BuyMeACoffee.com/revleftradio

Follow, Subscribe, & Learn more about Rev Left Radio https://revleftradio.com/

In this episode, Breht speaks with Dr. Richard Wolin, author of Heidegger in Ruins: Between Philosophy and Ideology, about the dark entanglement between Martin Heidegger's philosophy and his lifelong commitment to National Socialism. Heidegger is often hailed as the most important philosopher of the 20th century, yet his work was deeply shaped by the reactionary politics of his time. Wolin explains how Heidegger's central ideas -- Being, Dasein, authenticity, rootedness, and the "decline of the West" -- became intertwined with fascist notions of destiny, hierarchy, and belonging. They discuss the long history of attempts to sanitize Heidegger's record, what the Black Notebooks reveal about his true convictions, the interwar period in Germany and the conservative revolution, Heidegger's spiritual racism, and how the same civilizational despair and longing for renewal echo through today's far-right political movements. This conversation explores how the search for meaning and authenticity, when divorced from solidarity and democracy, can turn toward reactionary myth-making, hierarchical exclusion, and fascist authoritarianism.

Check out Dr. Wolin's articles in the LA Review of Books HERE

 

----------------------------------------------------

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 https://revleftradio.com/

Update and Reupload Sept. 25th: The extended family we have been supporting for over a year needs another influx of support as they try to move themselves and their stuff south, as the IOF closes in on their area. 

Make a direct intervention in the lives of Palestinians enduring genocide:

Donate directly to the Rayyan family in Gaza: https://www.spotfund.com/story/c600f234-0528-4498-809b-88b76a159c9d

 

With this episode of Guerrilla History, were continuing our series on African Revolutions and Decolonization with an outstanding case study on the Congo, looking at the process of colonization, how decolonization unfolded, Lumumba's short time as Prime Minister, and the transition to the Mobutu regime.  We really could not ask for a much better guest than Prof. Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja, who not only is one of the foremost experts in not only this history, but also served as a diplomat for the DRC.  We're also fortunate that the professor will be rejoining us for the next installment of the series, a dispatch on what is going on in the Eastern Congo and the roots of the ongoing conflict there.  Be sure to share this series with comrades, we are still in the very early phases of the planned ~40 parts, so it is a great time for them to start listening in as well!   Also subscribe to our Substack (free!) to keep up to date with what we are doing.  With so many episodes coming in this series (and beyond), you won't want to miss anything, so get the updates straight to your inbox.  guerrillahistory.substack.com   Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja is Professor Emeritus of African and Afro-American Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and previously served as the DRC's Permanent Representative to the United Nations.  Additionally, he is the author of numerous brilliant books, including Patrice Lumumba and The Congo from Leopold to Kabila: A People's History

Help support the show by signing up to our patreon, where you also will get bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/guerrillahistory 

With this episode of Guerrilla History, we launch into Pan-Africanism as a great additional starting point to our series on African Revolutions and Decolonization.  We bring on two marvelous guests, Prof. Layla Brown and Jacquie Luqman, to discuss the history, theoretical currents, and modern expressions of Pan-Africanism.  This is a 2+ hour masterclass, you certainly won't want to miss a moment of it!   Also subscribe to our Substack (free!) to keep up to date with what we are doing:  guerrillahistory.substack.com   Layla Brown is an Assistant Professor of Cultural Anthropology & Africana Studies and affiliate faculty in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. Brown's research focuses on Pan-African, Socialist, and Feminist social movements in Venezuela, the US, and the broader African Diaspora.  She is a member of the All-African People's Revolutionary Party (GC), and can be found on twitter @PanAfrikFem_PhD.  She also cohosts the Life. Study. Revolution podcast alongside Charisse Burden-Stelly.   Jacquie Luqman is a radical activist, journalist, and is a coordinator with Black Alliance for Peace.  You can follow some (but not all!) of her writings at Black Agenda Report, and watch her show Luqman Nation on Black Liberation Media. She is on twitter @luqmannation1.

Help support the show by signing up to our patreon, where you also will get bonus content: https://www.patreon.com/guerrillahistory 

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 Breht sits down with Brian Becker, a longtime socialist organizer and leading member of the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), to break down the current political and economic crisis in the United States and the urgent need for revolutionary organization. As Trump-aligned forces consolidate power, billionaires tighten their grip over the state, and the feckless Democratic Party continues its self-imposed paralysis, Brian and Breht examine what this moment signals about the trajectory of U.S. capitalism and imperialism. Is the U.S. empire in irreversible decline, or is it adapting to sustain itself through repression and restructuring?

Brian shares insights from decades of organizing, discussing the lessons PSL has learned in building a revolutionary party, the importance of anti-imperialism in U.S. revolutionary work, and the key weaknesses and strengths of today's left. Finally, Brian offers concrete advice for listeners looking to move from political awareness to active participation in the struggle.

If you're serious about understanding and engaging in revolutionary politics, this is an episode you won't want to miss.


Outro Song: "Gangster" by Good Luck Chuck Feat. Rocky Rivera & Bambu

Learn about and Join the PSL HERE

Check out Liberation News HERE

Check out Brian's podcast "The Socialist Program" on YOUTUBE or subscribe to the show on your preferred podcast app

Learn more about the ANSWER Coalition HERE

Check out BreakThrough News HERE

-----------------------------

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 HERE

(There was a small audio issue at the end of this episode, we fixed it and are re-releasing it)

Breht goes on the Pokepreet Podcast as a guest to have a fun and fiery conversation about his ideological development, why the United States is so hostile to socialism even relative to other hyper-capitalist countries, the current grotesque state of global capitalism-imperialism, and much more!

"In this thought-provoking conversation, we sit down with Breht O'Shea to dive deep into the current state of world imperialism, the decline of the American empire, and the evolving global power dynamics. Brett opens up about how his ideology has transformed over time, offering a candid and enlightening perspective on his journey.  This is one of the best conversations we've had on the podcast and I hope you enjoy!"

If you like the episode, go leave him a good review on Apple or Spotify and show him some Rev Left Love! 

Find Pokepreet:

Podcast main webiste: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/pokepreetpod 


Twitter: https://x.com/Thepokepreetpod  

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pokepreet_1/?locale=es&hl=en

Substack:https://substack.com/@pokepreet

-----------------------------

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 HERE

Todd McGowan joins the show once again, this time to discuss his newest book "Pure Excess: Capitalism and the Commodity". Together, he and Breht discuss commodity fetishism, the tensions between Marxism and psychoanalysis, what a critique of the subjective aspects of capitalism offers anti-capitalist politics, the "superstructural malaise" of late capitalism, Desire and Lack, capitalism's death drive, how to resist becoming a neoliberal subject, and much more. 

"Drawing on psychoanalytic theory, McGowan shows how the production of commodities explains the role of excess in the workings of capitalism. Capitalism and the commodity ensnare us with the image of the constant fulfillment of our desires―the seductive but unattainable promise of satisfying a longing that has no end. To challenge this system, McGowan turns to art, arguing that it can expose the psychological mechanisms that perpetuate capitalist society and reveal the need for limits. Featuring lively writing and engaging examples from film, literature, and popular culture, Pure Excess uncovers the hidden logic of capitalism―and helps us envision a noncapitalist life in a noncapitalist society."

Check out all our other episodes with Todd HERE

Check out Todd's podcast Why Theory? on your preferred podcast app!

Outro Song: I Want to Work Less by Grand Commander

-----------------------------

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 RLR on IG HERE

Learn more about Rev Left HERE

Breht listens to, reflects on, and critically engages with a public lecture by the late philosopher Michael Sugrue titled Marcus Aurelius' Meditations: The Stoic Ideal. He discusses the philosophy of Stoicism, its insights as well as its limitations, its commodification and bastardization under late capitalism, the dialectical inversion of the philosophy of a Roman Emperor for proletarian revolutionaries, Virtue Ethics, Mahayana Buddhism and The Four Brahmaviharas, the importance of courage and discipline and responsibility, Momento Mori, the Cardinal Virtues, equipping ourselves mentally and emotionally for a lifetime of class struggle, seeking the balance of the Middle Path, Marxist Dialectics, and much more! 

Professor Sugrue passed away last year, and Breht has always found his free, public lectures on philosophy to be helpful and really well done. In the spirit of free and open access to education, Breht offers his knowledge of philosophy alongside this offering by Professor Sugrue.
The use of this lecture series falls under the protections of the Fair Use doctrine. 

Outro Music: "Lilac Wine" by Nina Simone

SUPPORT SOCIALIST NIGHT SCHOOL HERE

Check out all our other Philosophy Series episodes HERE

-----------------------------

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 RLR on IG HERE

Learn more about Rev Left HERE