Shows
Books are Good, ActuallyLog Off by Katherine CrossFor the month of June we read Log Off by Katherine Cross! We discussed our relationship with social media, social media and the revolution, using platforms for organizing and why fandom is not politics. July: Conspiracy by Ryan HolidayAugust: All the Shah's Men by Stephen KinzerSeptember: If We Burn by Vincent Bevins2025-07-011h 24Books are Good, ActuallyWe Will Shoot Back Part 2A little late but we completed We Will Shoot Back by Akinyele Umoja! We discussed lesson's learned with organizing and self-defense, Jimmy apparently discovered that he did read about Mississippi civil rights history, and our lack of knowledge of Nation of Islam. June - Log Off Why Posting and Politics (Almost) Never Mix by Katherine Cross2025-06-0253 minBooks are Good, ActuallyWe Will Shoot Back Part 1For April, we read the first four chapters of We Will Shoot Back by Akinyele Umoja. We discussed our knowledge of civil rights movement, non violence vs self defense, surprising new things we learned and also who we would be in the foxhole with! May - Finish up We Will Shoot BackJune - Log Off Why Posting and Politics (Almost) Never Mix by Katherine Cross2025-04-2946 minBooks are Good, ActuallyOn TyrannyFor March, we read On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder. We did...not like this book and why it didn't work for us, the shallow communist history examples, we had an anime corner, and if this book really is for anyone. April - We Will Shoot Back by Akinyele Omowale UmojaMay - Log Off Why Posting and Politics (Almost) Never Mix by Katherine Cross2025-04-0151 minBooks are Good, ActuallyIn Case You Get Hit by a Bus: How to Organize Your Life Now for When You're Not Around LaterFor the month of February, we read In Case You Get Hit by a Bus: How to Organize Your Life Now for When You're Not Around Later by Abby Schneiderman, Adam Seifer, Gene Newman! We discussed what levels we have accomplished, how we may engage our family about their wills and other important items, what we think the minimum amount should be, password managers, and a homelab way of storing things. March - On Tyranny by Timothy SnyderApril - We Will Shoot Back by Akinyele Omowale UmojaMay - Log Off Why Posting and Politics...2025-03-031h 08Books are Good, ActuallyRed StarFor the start of the new year, we read Red Star by Alexander Bogdanov! We discussed if we enjoyed Red Star or Engineer Menni, Bogdanov's view of women, if the book is effective socialist education, and if we would go to a Martian utopia!
February - In Case You Get Hit by a Bus: How to Organize Your Life Now for When You're Not Around Later by Abby Schneiderman
2025-02-031h 06
Wires from the Deep - A Silo PodcastSilo S2 E9: The Tragic Historye of Solo & JimmyThe penultimate episode of Silo Season 2 has everyone talking. A slate of new characters in 17, things heating up in 18, a look back at a tragic event, and an ending that shocked us all. Angela and Crystal break down Silo Episode 9, "The Safeguard."2025-01-111h 00Books are Good, ActuallyBabel: An Arcane HistoryFor December, we ready Babel by R.F. Kuang! We discussed favorite characters, unexpected climaxes, Harry Potter comparison and our favorite ship!
January - Red Star by Alexander Bogdanov
February - In Case You Get Hit by a Bus: How to Organize Your Life Now for When You're Not Around Later by Abby Schneiderman2024-12-301h 01
Be Freaking Awesome PodcastEP147 Lessons on Faith, Persistence, and Success from DJ Jimmy RockSend us a textIn this episode of Be Freaking Awesome, hosts Sami Kinnison and Angela Belford sit down with Jimmy Rock, a Christian DJ, music producer, and artist, to explore his inspiring journey of blending faith, creativity, and persistence to carve out a unique niche in the music industry. From performing on Sharon McMahon’s book tour to creating his upcoming album, Reflections, Jimmy shares how he stays true to his values while pursuing his dreams.Listeners will hear firsthand:How to Navigate Career Challenges: Jimmy shares practical advice on staying re...2024-12-0348 minBooks are Good, ActuallyPlay NiceFor November, we read Play Nice by Jason Schrier! We discussed our history with Blizzard, surprising facts and uncovering misconceptions, the difference between iD and Blizzard and brainstorming how we could solve Blizzard's problem forever!
December - Babel, or the Necessity of Violence by R.F. Kuang
January - Red Star by Alexander Bogdanov
February - In Case You Get Hit by a Bus: How to Organize Your Life Now for When You're Not Around Later by Abby Schneiderman2024-12-022h 18Books are Good, ActuallyThe WitchFor October, we read The Witch by Ronald Hutton. We discussed our knowledge of witches and witchcraft, how this books differs from The Calaban and the Witch, shamanism and how the Catholic church turned out to be reasonable!
November - Play Nice: The Rise, Fall, and Future Of Blizzard Entertainment by Jason Schreier2024-11-0246 minBooks are Good, ActuallyTechnopolyFor September, we read Technopoly by Neil Postman and boy howdy...we had some thoughts and feels about this book. We discussed some Postman's war against social science, US a technopoly hellscape?, industries that have surrendered to technology and some Warhammer 40k!
October - The Witch: A History of Fear, from Ancient Times to the Present by Ronald Hutton
November - Play Nice: The Rise, Fall, and Future Of Blizzard Entertainment by Jason Schreier2024-10-041h 19Books are Good, ActuallyDon't Look UpFor August, we watched Don't Look Up directed by Adam McKay. We discussed our favorite characters and moments, what worked and didn't work, we answered the question about was this really an allegory to climate change and so much more!
Articles referenced:
https://www.technicianonline.com/culture/critics-are-right-about-don-t-look-up-it-sucks/article_528e4384-7224-11ec-acb0-7740f9a22af1.html
https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/2021/12/critics-of-dont-look-up-are-missing-the-entire-point
https://www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/archive/2022/01/dont-look-up-satire/621256/
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-front-row/the-crude-demagogy-of-dont-look-up
Back to reading for the rest of the year...2024-09-041h 01Books are Good, ActuallyThe Murderbot Diaries: Artificial ConditionFor July, we read The Murderbot Diaries: Artificial Condition by Martha Wells! We discuss our favorite characters and moments, revelations made or not made in the book, and if we are AI if we took questions from Reddit.
For August, we are going to watch "Don't Look Up!" available on Netflix.
Reddit questions: https://www.reddit.com/r/bookclub/comments/199kj1a/discussion_bonus_book_artificial_condition_by/2024-08-0544 minBooks are Good, ActuallySlow DownFor the month of June, we read Slow Down by Kohei Saito! We discussed the life long pursuit of studying and reinterpreting Marx, Saito's four outcomes and futures, disaster capitalism, another rant on vegetarianism by Angela, and a very bad attempt to end on a more hopeful note.
July: Artificial Condition: The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells2024-07-071h 20
Someone's ThunderEncore Episode Jimmy Awards & Rachel ReinerIn celebration of the recent 15th annual Jimmy Awards, we're re-releasing our interview with Rachel Reiner.Rachel Reiner joins Stephanie and Angela to talk about making connections, encouraging support, and being unapologetically multifaceted. Rachel is the director of Audience Engagement at the Broadway League, the managing director of Resonance Ensemble, Executive Director of the Jimmy Awards and more! Rachel created the site careers.broadway and leads the Broadway Bridges program through the Broadway League.Original Music by: Yah Supreme (Yahya Jeffries-El)2024-07-0238 min
Back of the RoomEpisode 8 - Angela SmithEpisode 8 of Back of the Room features an interview with Comedian Angela Smith! We talk about her recent trip to Vegas, John Wick, and do a segment called, I'll Die on this Hill. Follow Angela on Insta @angelasmithstl & follow Back of the Room on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok @backoftheroompodcast.2024-06-0451 minBooks are Good, ActuallyMidnight in ChernobylFor May, we read Midnight in Chernobyl by Adam Higginbotham! We discussed the little town around the little nuclear plant, the big explosion, who's at fault, and if we would even visit.
June: Slow Down by Kohei Saito
July: Artificial Condition: The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells2024-05-281h 09Books are Good, ActuallySocialist States and the Environment Lessons for Eco-Socialist FuturesFor April, we read Socialist States and the Environment Lessons for Eco-Socialist Futures by Salvatore Engel-Di Mauro! We discussed things we have learned from the examples of socialist states, what was missing from the book, comparison to Half-Earth Socialism, and degrowth policies.
https://monthlyreview.org/2022/09/01/a-new-environmental-history-of-socialist-states/
May: Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster by Adam Higginbotham
June: Slow Down by Kohei Saito
July: Artificial Condition: The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells
2024-04-301h 02Books are Good, ActuallyKing RichardFor March, we read King Richard by Michael Dobbs! We discussed our knowledge about Watergate, interesting tidbits gleamed from the book, what critical mistakes were made and the structure of the book.
Upcoming:
April - Socialist States and the Environment Lessons for Eco-Socialist Futures by Salvatore Engel-Di Mauro2024-04-011h 03Books are Good, ActuallyNeuromancerFor February, we read Neuromancer by William Gibson! We discussed our favorite characters and scenes, vocabulary/language, comparing Neuromancer with its contemporaries, Gibson's vision of the future and would we live in that world!
Angela wrongly misidentified the comic Transmetropolitian as Cosmopolitian. Sorry for that mix up.
Upcoming Books:
March - King Richard by Michael Dobbs
April - Socialist States and the Environment Lessons for Eco-Socialist Futures by Salvatore Engel-Di Mauro2024-02-261h 04Books are Good, ActuallyHow to Read LacanNew year, new book! For January, we read How to Read Lacan and we sort of understand it now. We discuss the regrettable choice of reading Less than Nothing first, looking at horror movies through Lacian lens, how dating can also be looked at in a Lacian lens and even Kingdom Hearts!
Upcoming books:
February - Neuromancer by William Gibson
March - King Richard by Michael Dobbs
April - Socialist States and the Environment Lessons for Eco-Socialist Futures by Salvatore Engel-Di Mauro2024-01-291h 09Books are Good, ActuallyHalf-Earth SocialismOur last book of the year, we read Half-Earth Socialism! We discussed that this is actually our third eco-socialist book, interrogated the solutions provided, veganism (again...Angela's fault), and the critique's!
https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/2022/05/30/book-review-half-earth-socialism-a-plan-to-save-the-future-from-extinction-climate-change-and-pandemics-by-drew-pendergrass-and-troy-vettese/
https://cosmonautmag.com/2022/10/who-holds-up-half-the-earth-a-review-of-half-earth-socialism/
January - How to Read Lacan by Zizkek
2024-01-011h 08Books are Good, ActuallyTen Myths about IsraelFor November, we discuss Ten Myths about Israel by Ilan Pappe! We discuss our own misconceptions and myths we have about Israel and Palestine, socialism and Zionism, an interesting discussion about Hamas, one state solution and how we can support the Pro-Palestinian side.
December - Half-Earth Socialism by Drew Pendergrass and Troy Vettese
January - How to Read Lacan by Zizkek
2023-11-271h 03Books are Good, ActuallyMen, Women and ChainsawsAnother late one but we managed, for our October book we read Men,Women and Chainsaws! We discussed the surprising analysis of possession films, could we apply the same analysis to contagion movies, grouping of horror movies, horror movies and race, and a side chat about Resident Evil movies and The Human Centipede!
Due to the Gaza Genocide we moved books down by one month:
November -Ten Myths about Israel by Ilan Pappe
December - Half-Earth Socialism by Drew Pendergrass and Troy Vettese
January - How...2023-11-061h 15Books are Good, ActuallyHegemony and Socialist StrategyFor September, we read Hegemony and Socialist Strategy by Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe! Although we were late we did finish the book, we discussed the definitions, post-marxism, direct democracy, and starting compounds in minecraft.
Youtube summary - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEnjZZzcJ4Y
October - Men, Women, and Chainsaws by Carol J. Clover
November - Half-Earth Socialism by Drew Pendergrass and Troy Vettese
December - How to Read Lacan by Zizkek
2023-10-091h 13
Una Página A La VezHablemos con Jimmy Valdéz OsakuJimmy Valdez Osaku, poeta, pintor y activista cultural. Un artista que ama tanto cocinar como escribir.
Aunque vive y trabaja en la ciudad de Nueva York. Sus pinturas e instalaciones de arte se han exhibido en Nueva York, Boston, San Juan, La Habana, Santo Domingo, Tokio, Madrid, Toronto y otros lugares del mundo. Desde 2004, ha estado organizando y curando exposiciones de arte en varios centros culturales de la ciudad de Nueva York y Union City, Nueva Jersey, entre las que se incluyen: “Poetas que pintan” 2004, “Undertow” 2012, “6to Piso” 2013, “Te Deum” 2014, “Bella Memoria del Horror” 2015, “Wabi Sabi” 2016, Resilencia 2017, Colateral 2017, “Fulgura...2023-09-2627 minBooks are Good, ActuallyWeird Scenes Inside the CanyonFor August, we read Weird Scenes inside the Canyon and it was a doozy. We discussed the author's thesis, the evidence presented, debunked a misconception about Jim Morrison, the CIA, and most importantly Charles Manson!
September - Hegemony and Socialist Strategy2023-08-281h 02Books are Good, ActuallyHow to Blowup a Pipeline - MovieFor July, instead of reading a book we watched a movie - How to Blowup a Pipeline! We discussed our favorite characters, how those character's motivations worked for us, opsec corner, FBI's portrayal, the trolley problem and much more.
Next month, we are back to reading!
Upcoming:
August - Weird Scenes Inside the Canyon
September - Hegemony and Socialist Strategy
2023-07-311h 42Books are Good, ActuallyBlood in my EyeFor June, we read Blood in my Eye by George Jackson! We discussed Jackson's historical view and definition of fascism, Frankenstein's monster as capitalism, dogmatism in revolutionary theory and tactics, our favorite passages, and revolutionary violence.
Question sources: https://www.liberationschool.org/blood-in-my-eye-study-guide/
https://www.liberationschool.org/george-jackson-blood-in-my-eye/
Upcoming:
July - How to Blow up a Pipeline the movie 50th episode bonanza
August - Weird Scenes Inside the Canyon
September - Hegemony and Socialist Strategy2023-07-031h 21Books are Good, ActuallyJesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a NationFor May, we read Jesus and John Wayne by Kristen Kobes du Mez! We discuss muscular christianity, the tenets of evangelicalism, the myth of the cowboy and John Wayne, evangelicals obsession with sex and being very angry!
Questions from: https://kristindumez.com/jesus-and-john-wayne-book-club-guide/
June - Blood in My Eye by George Jackson2023-05-301h 30Books are Good, ActuallyRules for RadicalsFor April, we read Rules for Radicals by Saul Alinsky! We discussed some of our misgivings with the tactics Alinksy described, the two people who recommended this book (surprising but at the same time...unsurprising), the categorization of haves and have-nots, means to an end, big tent organizations, and being on a CIA list.
May - Jesus and John Wayne by Kristen Kobes Du Mez
June - Blood in my Eye by George Jackson2023-05-0856 minBooks are Good, ActuallyState and RevolutionFor March, we read State and Revolution by Vladimir Lenin! We discussed our history with him, Kautsky, opportunists and what their goals are, how we can/cannot wither away the state, the problem with the dictatorship step and Sonic the hedgehog!
Liberation School Questions - https://www.liberationschool.org/study-guide-the-state-and-revolution/
April - Rules for Radicals by Saul D. Alinsky
May - Jesus and John Wayne by Kristen Kobes Du Mez
June - Blood in my Eye by George Jackson
2023-04-031h 04Books are Good, ActuallyThe Dawn of Everything Part 2For the month of February, we finished up (well in the case for Jimmy...) The Dawn of Everything! In this episode we discussed why Angela didn't finish and the elusive chapter 11.5, how we felt the book defined states and other aspects of political power, bird chirping, cheesecake making, and discussion of critiques that were levied at the book. We also got sidetracked by communist sonic fan art.
https://mronline.org/2021/12/20/the-dawn-of-everything-gets-human-history-wrong/
March - State and Revolution by Vladimir Lenin 2023-02-2756 min
Digital Studioz Podcast“Bye, Felisha to Hi, Felisha” Interview with Ms. Angela MeansSend us a textOn this weeks episodes the crew talks with none other than Angela Means.. comedienne, model, actress, chef and mom. We discuss her time in the industry and the impact it had on her career as well as her flourishing career as a well known vegan chef and so much more. Catch up with this weeks news with Parrish and “What’s The Really” with Jimmy Support the show2023-02-241h 15Books are Good, ActuallyThe Dawn of EverythingFor the month of January we started The Dawn of Everything by David Graeber and David Wengrow! We discussed our history with pre-history and anthropology, failing of high school history, trying to define freedom, misconceptions of "tribal" life and a side bar about Guns,Germs and Steel.
February - Dawn of Everything by David Graeber and David Wengrow Chapters 7 - 12
March - State and Revolution by Vladimir Lenin 2023-01-3052 min
The Broken Pack™: Stories of Adult Sibling LossCaregiver, Survivor, Sister: A Sibling Loss Story- Jen / JimmyNavigating Dual Roles: Surviving Sibling Loss and Anticipatory Grief as Caregiver, Advocate, and Grieving SisterA conversation with sibling loss survivor, Dr. Jen Kilgore, about losing her brother, JimmyDr. Jen Kilgore, a naturopathic doctor, shares her personal sibling loss story of losing her brother to cancer and the challenges she has faced in the aftermath.She discusses the guilt and anticipatory grief she experienced as she watched her brother’s health decline.She also talks about the difficulties of navigating her relationship with her sister after their brother’s deat...2023-01-1149 min