Shows
Everyday Anarchism170. The Biblical Curse of Wealth -- Pastor MicahPastor Micah joins me to share a radical reading of the Book of Genesis in which wealth isn't a blessing on God's people, but a curse!I recently appeared on Micah's podcast, The Word in Black and Red, to discuss the 10 Commandments with Micah. That link is here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s-2-20-exodus-19-20-arrival-at-mt-sanai-the-ten-commandments/id1682991552?i=1000730399185I also recently appeared on The Skeptical Leftist podcast! That link is here: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/skepticalleftist/episodes/The-Anti-Influencers-Case-For-Anarchism-with-Graham-Culbertson-e3a0a4jAnd the YouTube video of that conversation...
2025-10-291h 00
The Skeptical Leftist PodcastThe Anti-Influencer's Case For Anarchism with Graham CulbertsonGraham Culbertson joins me to talk about anarchism as a lived practice, how people already cooperate without coercion, why authority rarely works the way we think it does, and what it means to resist systems of control in everyday life.We also get into the pressures of podcasting in an algorithmic world and how staying authentic can itself be an act of resistance.Guest: Graham Culbertson – https://everydayanarchism.com All links: https://linktr.ee/skepticalleftist
2025-10-261h 14Everyday Anarchism152. Why Billionaires Love AI -- Brian MerchantBrian Merchant, author of the newsletter Blood in the Machine, returns to the show to talk about the newsletter, ai, tech oligarchs, the neoliberal "abundance" agenda, jobs, and pretty much everything else you want to know about the terrible, horrible, no good collusion between Trump, Tech billionaires, and ai. Fight the tech billionaires. Support Blood in the Machine!https://www.bloodinthemachine.com/ You can also check out Brian's previous appearance on his book about the luddites - also called Blood in the Machine: https://player.captivate.fm/episode/a05a3ed4-471c-4224-9ac6...
2025-04-161h 05Everyday AnarchismRerun: Anarchism is...Mardi Gras with Meredith KingHappy Mardi Gras! The show should be back publishing new episodes in March. In the meantime, here's a rerun, and a link to a couple of interview I did late last year:https://pod.link/1705765872/episode/716e36494d7eff56dc142642d55c7c3bhttps://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jelle-laverge/episodes/The-Core-Curriculum---Episode-1---Interview-with-Graham-Culbertson-e2aeujb
2024-02-1357 minEveryday Anarchism094. A Usable Progressive Past -- James FallowsFrequent guest James Fallows returns to the podcast as the first ever guest host! James interviews regular host Graham Culbertson about the legacy of progressivism and what ideas from that era we could use today in the struggle to make a better world, especially those related to William James and his famous talk "The Moral Equivalent of War."You can also read or watch Jimmy Carter's famous "Moral Equivalent of War" speech on its Wikipedia page.
2023-08-1650 min
Good in Theory: A Political Philosophy Podcast46 - Athenian democracy and Plato w/ Graham Culbertson (Everyday Anarchism Podcast)This episode is a crossover collabo with Graham Culbertson of the Everyday Anarchism podcast. Graham asked me over to talk Athenian democracy, Plato, anarchism and how modern meritocratic education sucks. We had a nice time with it and hope you do too. Support the show
2023-05-111h 04Everyday Anarchism074. Graeber's Pirate Enlightment -- Cory DoctorowAlthough we lost David Graeber several years ago, we are still getting the bittersweet joy of reading new books by him. This week, Cory Doctorow joins me to discuss Pirate Enlightenment, or the Real Libertalia, a short book in which Graeber convincingly melds the oral histories he learned while doing doctoral research in Madagascar with 17th century European tales of a pirate kingdom on Madagascar into a swashbuckling tale of an anarchist pirate confederation.For more on pirates, check out my episode with Gabriel Kuhn on the anarchic nature of the golden age of piracy: https://player...
2023-02-0157 minEveryday Anarchism073. Our Suicidal Food System -- Mark Bittman and Ricardo SalvadorOn this episode, Mark Bittman and Ricard Salvador discuss our broken food system and what we can do about it. Jumping off from Mark's fantastic book, Animal, Vegetable, Junk, we discuss the exploitative nature of the food system, why it's poisoning people and the planet, and how the corporate-captured USDA and FDA can't do anything about it.What comes next? We're not exactly sure - but it's going to have to be a better way of nourishing people if we want to survive.
2023-01-2541 min
aideasWhy Have There Been No Great Women Philosophers of Mind?Since at least Mary Shelley, women have been brilliantly writing about minds and consciousness. But very few of them have been "philosophers of mind." I'm not really sure why, but I know it's philosophy's faultThe intro and outro music is from Domenico Gabrielli's ricercar, performed on solo cello by Debbie Davis
2023-01-2310 minEveryday Anarchism072. Stanley Cavell and Ralph Waldo Emerson -- Lawrence RhuLawrence Rhu, my undergraduate mentor and friend of more than two decades, joins me today to discuss Stanley Cavell, one of his mentors and one of American philosophy's most idiosyncratic and humanist thinkers. Spurred by the publication of the recent posthumous publication of Cavell's Here and There: Sites of Philosophy, Larry and I talk about the affinities between Cavell, Emerson, and everyday anarchism.
2023-01-181h 04aideasFrankenstein and AI with Eileen HuntThis episode's guest is Eileen Hunt, a professor of political theory at the University of Notre Dame and the author of Artificial Life after Frankenstein. Eileen and I discuss a number of topics related to AI and Frankenstein, including:Mary Shelley's upbringing as the daughter of two radical thinkersThe political and literary influences on the novelThe role of parenting in the novelThe similarities between The intro and outro music is from Domenico Gabrielli's ricercar, performed on solo cello by Debbie Davis
2023-01-0949 minEveryday Anarchism071. Practical Anarchism -- Scott BransonToday I'm joined by the author Scott Branson to discuss their book Practical Anarchism. Scott and I discuss the similarities between our approaches, as well as some key differences related to terminology. For more from Scott, you can check out The Final Straw Radio, a podcast and radio show that they co-host.
2023-01-0452 minEveryday Anarchism070. Fully Automated Luxury Gay Space CommunismAlso known as Fully Automated Luxury Queer Space AnarchismThis week, 3 of my former students - Joy Frost, Mark Muchane, and Rook Schrader - join me to discuss Fully Automated Luxury Gay Space Communism. These three students and I made a class about the concept - a class that was banned by our school! Lucky for you, the students made it happen anyway, and share what they learned in this episode.Here are some of the things we talked about in the episode:Four Futures by Peter Frase The Neutral Zone (S...
2022-12-2857 minEveryday Anarchism069. Anarchist Constitutions -- Ruth KinnaRuth Kinna joins me to discuss Anarchic Agreements: A Field Guide to Collective Organizing, from PM Press. In this very short book, Ruth and her collaborators (Alex Prichard, Thomas Swann, and Seeds for Change) lay out a series of questions and possibilities which face any attempt at anarchist organizing, dealing directly with the seeming contradiction of anarchist constitutionalizing. The book also includes anarchist statements of principles from more than a century ago to the present dayIn this conversation, Ruth and I discuss the meaning of the Occupy movement, the complicated relationship between anarchist and democratic forms...
2022-12-2143 minEveryday Anarchism068. Rojava and the Kurdish Women's Movement -- Dilar DirikThis podcast finally turns its attention to the Kurdish Women's Movement in Rojava. My guest is Dilar Dirik, whose new book The Kurdish Women's Movement: History, Theory, Practice takes a sociological approach to examining and explaining the freedom struggle in Kurdistan over the past four decades. Dilar and I discuss the role of Abdullah Öcalan in the movement, connections between the movement and the work of Murray Bookchin, and the institutions and practices currently sustaining the struggle.
2022-12-1446 minEveryday Anarchism067. Embracing Mathematical Anarchism - - Philip OrdingMathematician Philip Ording joins me to discuss his book, 99 Variations on a Proof, in which he finds the solution to (or "proves" his solution to) the same cubic equation over and over and over again - each time in a different style. Philip and I discuss how this approach can be described as mathematical anarchism, how math can be understood as everything from inflexibly authoritarian to infinitely free, and whether or not mathematical anarchism could be used to reshape math education. Plus Wittgenstein.
2022-12-0753 minEveryday Anarchism066. Dorothy Day's Catholic Anarchism -- Brian TerrellMy guest today is Brian Terrell, a member of the Catholic Worker, a goat farmer, a peace protester, and a personal friend of Dorothy Day. Brian discusses the life and philosophy of Dorothy Day, helping us make sense of a movement which is both Catholic and anarchist.You can learn more about Brian's work with the Nevada Desert Experience here: http://nevadadesertexperience.org/My previous episodes on anarchism and the life of Jesus are:https://player.captivate.fm/episode/37ea6a67-1a3e-49bd-b932-e40446491bdahttps://player.captivate.fm...
2022-11-3057 minEveryday Anarchism065. Should You Watch the Qatar World Cup? -- David GoldblattDavid Goldblatt joins me to discuss the ethics of the 2022 World Cup. This World Cup is a triumph of corporate capitalism and corruption over workers' rights, human rights, and the environment. On the other hand, it's not clear that what David calls "a World Cup for our times" is really worse than any of the world sporting events held in places like China and Russia over the past decades. In this episode, David systematically lays out the problems with this tournament but also the ways that it is more symptom than disease.Here's Amnesty's response to the...
2022-11-1646 minEveryday Anarchism064. Adorno's Minima Moralia -- David HillThis week I'm joined by friend and colleague David Hill, composer of the Everyday Anarchism theme music! Our topic is Minima Moralia, a disconcerting book of aphorisms written by Theodor Adorno in the wake of the Holocaust. David and I discuss Adorno's legendary hatred of awesome things like jazz and anarchism, his role as an enemy of left-wing student activists in the 1960s, and the everyday nature of his critiques of capitalism.
2022-11-0945 minaideasAyer's SociopathsPhilosophy used to be the search for wisdom, but it's become a search for certainty. And if you send an AI on a search for certainty, you'll probably create a sociopathThe intro and outro music is from Domenico Gabrielli's ricercar, performed on solo cello by Debbie Davis
2022-11-0710 minEveryday Anarchism063. "Resist!" - a board game about fighting Franco - - David ThompsonI'm joined by game designer David Thompson to discuss his game Resist!, a solitaire card game about the Spanish Maquis's battle against Franco in the 1940s. David and I discuss the game design process, the little known history of the Spanish Maquis, and the way that the board game industry runs on mutual aidHere are links to David's description of designing the game and an account of the Spanish Maquis
2022-11-0241 minEveryday Anarchism062. Remembering the Paris Commune - - Carolyn EichnerAlthough I'm a little late, I finally get around to honoring the 150th anniversary of the 1871 Paris Commune. My guest is Carolyn Eichner, author of The Paris Commune: A Brief History. We do an even briefer history of the Commune on this episode, as well as a discussion of the Commune's legacy and the sites in Paris you can visit to honor the Communards.
2022-10-2651 minEveryday Anarchism061. "The Roman Empire Lasted Because Its Rulers Were in a Constant State of Terror" --Anthony KaldellisI'm joined today by Anthony Kaldellis, author of The Byzantine Republic and host of the podcast Byzantium and Friends. Anthony and I discuss how Byzantium, popularly associated with with bureaucracy and authoritarianism, depended on mass protests for political legitimacy.
2022-10-191h 09aideasSidelining SentienceIf sentience means "having senses," then your floodlights that turn on when someone walks by are sentient. But if floodlights are sentient, maybe sentience isn't quite the right word.The intro and outro music is from Domenico Gabrielli's ricercar, performed on solo cello by Debbie Davis
2022-10-1710 minEveryday Anarchism060. Batman vs. AnarchismWhat if Batman's biggest enemy isn't crime? What if his deepest fear isn't bats? What if the secret villain Batman faces in every Batman story is anarchism?I keep trying to go on hiatus, but I keep making new episodes. I guess this is Season/Phase 2. Enjoy!
2022-10-1225 min2022-10-0310 minEveryday Anarchism059. Mike Duncan Meets Everyday AnarchismIn this episode, I sit down with Revolutions podcaster Mike Duncan to discuss Kropotkin's influence on the Russian Revolution, protesting in Macron's France, mutual aid during the worst of the pandemic, and whether our current political system can avoid another revolution.Many thanks to the people of Flyleaf Books, a wonderful Chapel Hill bookstore, who provided the venue for our interview. You can pick up Mike's books The Storm before the Storm: The Beginning of the End of the Roman Republic and Hero of Two Worlds: The Marquis de Lafayette in the Age of Revolution from them.
2022-09-2848 minEveryday Anarchism058. The Expanse: Not Utopian, Not Dystopian, Just Topian -- Daniel Abraham and Ty FranckThe authors behind the award-winning novel and TV series The Expanse join me to discuss the politics and sociology of the science fiction future they've created. The Expanse is not a dystopia or a utopia, just a regular ole topia, in which corporations and governments continue to compete and cooperate both with each other and with resistance movements and labor unions. But in space!Daniel, Ty, and I discuss the historical analogues for the governments and resistance movements in The Expanse, the humanity of their characters, and how the series differs from its peers The Wire and...
2022-09-2159 min
Everyday AnarchismOscar Wilde's Machine Slavery (AIdeas Crossover)This week's episode is an edition of my new podcast, AIdeas. Oscar Wilde imagined an anarchist utopia without drudgery and without slavery. How did he propose to accomplish this? Automation. Here's the article about American slavery that I mentioned by Nell Irvin Painter: How We Think About the Term "Enlsaved" MattersSubscribe to AIdeas for more!
2022-09-1913 minaideasOscar Wilde's Machine SlaverySlave actually means Slav. And the word robot is a Slavic word. It means slave.Here's the article about American slavery that I mentioned by Nell Irvin Painter: How We Think About the Term "Enlsaved" Matters
2022-09-1911 minEveryday Anarchism057. Slouching Towards Utopia -- Brad DeLongThis week's guest is J. Bradford DeLong, author of the new economic history of the 20th century, Slouching Towards Utopia. Brad and I discuss William Morris, pre-industrial civilization, jobs versus occupations, and how much blame anarchists deserve for ruining the world. Brad and I had a bit of trouble with our setup, so the audio on his end is a bit rough.
2022-09-141h 03aideasSudowrite, an AI Companion for Fiction Writers -- James YuMy guest today is James Yu, cofounder of Sudowrite, an AI companion for fiction writers. James and I discuss how neural networks process language, how AI can help writers, and the difficult path forward for using AI to help humans write without competing with them. Plus we imagine what it would be like if your favorite author turned out to be a robot!The intro and outro music is from Domenico Gabrielli's ricercar, performed on solo cello by Debbie Davis
2022-09-1247 minEveryday Anarchism056. William Morris -- Ruth Kinna (1st Anniversary Episode!)One year later, Everyday Anarchism continues!In this episode, Ruth Kinna and I discuss William Morris, the brilliant craftsman/poet/artist who set out to defeat capitalism when he realized that the forces of commerce wouldn't let craftspeople make a living unless they sold their wares to wealthy. Just don't call him an anarchist.You can also hear Ruth's previous appearances on Everyday Anarchism, covering Santa Claus and Kropotkin.Please help Everyday Anarchism continue until September 2023 by telling a friend about the show, giving financially at everydayanarchism.com, or leaving a 5-star review...
2022-09-071h 052022-09-0509 minEveryday Anarchism055. Upheavals, Climate Justice, and Denial -- Jon RaymondMy guest this week is Jon Raymond, novelist and screenwriter, whose most recent book, Denial, imagines a world in 2052 in which climate justice has been delivered via Nuremberg-style trials, climate catastrophe has been avoided, and climate change denial has nevertheless continued. Jon and I discuss Denial, as well as Night Moves, the film he wrote about a group of activists planning a bombing attack on a hydroelectic dam. We also talk about science fiction, organic farming, the successes and excesses of antifa, and the aftermath of the 2020 protests in the Pacific Northwest.
2022-08-3148 minaideasThe Machine Stops with Joshua GlennOn this first interview episode of AIdeas I'm joined by Joshua Glenn, editor of Radium Age, a fantastic new series from MIT Press. We discuss the Radium Age, Joshua's name for the era of science fiction right before the better known Golden Age of the 1930s through the 1950s, and especially "The Machine Stops," E.M. Forster's 1909 story about a world in which automation provides humanity with everything it needs. The opening volume, containing Forster's story and Joshua's introduction, is Voices from the Radium AgeJosh also wrote a wonderful roundup of other stories of AI from...
2022-08-2955 minEveryday Anarchism054. Nihilism in Russian Literature -- Maya Slater and Nicolas Pasternak SlaterThis week we will survey nihilism in Russian literature with Maya Slater and Nicolas Pasternak Slater, translators of a new edition of Ivan Turgenev's Fathers and Children. Turgenev's novel introduced nihilism as an idea to an entire generation of Russian dissidents - including Kropotkin. Join me as the Slaters show how nihilism is portrayed in this epoch-making novel, as well as famous depictions of nihilism in Russian writers from Gogol to Dostoevsky.
2022-08-241h 012022-08-2208 min2022-08-0809 min2022-08-0111 min
Everyday AnarchismKropotkin's Drowning Child (AIdeas Crossover)This week's episode is an edition of my new podcast, AIdeas. How should we teach AI about human ethics? Simple: anarchism!Subscribe to AIdeas for more!
2022-08-0113 minEveryday Anarchism053. Lucy Parsons, Goddess of Anarchy -- Jacqueline JonesIn this episode of Anarchism 101: An Anarchist Syllabus, I'm joined by Jacqueline Jones, author of Goddess of Anarchy, to discuss Lucy Parsons and her legacy.
2022-07-2756 minaideasThere is a Spoon"Bright day. Breakfast. Return of common sense and cheerfulness."-Friedrich Nietzsche
2022-07-2511 minEveryday Anarchism052. The Liberation of Contract Grading -- Asao B. InoueIn this episode I'm joined by Asao B. Inoue to discuss contract grading, a radical (even anarchistic?) form of grading which strengthens the student-teacher relationship, lessens the power of hierarchy in the classroom, and fights the oppressive structures which are distorting education. If you'd like to learn more about contract grading - including how to integrate it into your syllabus - check out Asao's website: https://asaobinoue.blogspot.com/p/labor-based-grading-contract-resources.html
2022-07-201h 03Everyday Anarchism051. Anarchist Archaeologists on The Dawn of Everything, pt 2Welcome back to my continuing coverage of the Graeber and Wengrow book The Dawn of Everything. This week, is the conclusion of my conversation with four members of the Black Trowel Collective, a network of anarchist archeologists: James Birmingham, Lewis Borck, James Flexner, and Aris Politopoulos. This conversation covers next steps: in the wake of The Dawn of Everything and work done by the Black Trowel Collective, what comes next in this ongoing re-evaluation of humanity's origins? To hear the first part of the conversation, click here: www.everydayanarchism.com/anarchistarchaeologistsTo support underrepresented archaeologists financially, check...
2022-07-1350 minaideasJohn Searle's Chinese Room (Bits and Bytes)This episode covers one of the most famous thought experiments about AI: John Searle's Chinese Room. And how it is wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong.
2022-07-1109 minEveryday Anarchism050. Lucy Parsons - "Principles of Anarchism" and IWW Convention SpeechIn this episode of Anarchism 101: An Anarchist Syllabus, I read Lucy Parsons' "The Principles of Anarchism" and "Speech on June 29 of the Founding Convention of the IWW" .This project is year-long; on the first of each month of 2022, I'll be posting my reading of an important anarchist text. Later that month, I'll post an episode in which I discuss each text and its author with a scholar of anarchism. Look forward to my discussion of this text with Jacqueline Jones on July 27
2022-07-0640 minEveryday AnarchismState of the Podcast AddressAnnouncement: I'll be returning to the classroom this semester, so after July, the schedule for this podcast might get...erratic.Second Announcement: I am starting a second podcast on the philosophy of artificial intelligence. Check it out: https://aideas.captivate.fm/
2022-07-0105 minEveryday Anarchism049. Gandhi's Anarchism -- KP ShankaranIn this June 2022 discussion episode of Anarchism 101, I discuss Gandhi's "Passive Resistance" with KP Shankaran. Join us as we discuss Gandhi's place in the anarchist movement, why his ethics based anarchism is the purest form of anarchism, and how his critique of colonialism is more important now than ever before. This project is year-long; on the first of each month of 2022, I'll be posting my reading of an important anarchist text. Later that month, I'll post an episode in which I discuss each text and its author.
2022-06-2958 minaideasWhat Do Chatbots Know?What do chatbots know? Words, words, words.Here's Janelle Shane's response to the sentient chatbot pseudo-controversy: https://www.aiweirdness.com/interview-with-a-squirrel/
2022-06-2711 minEveryday Anarchism048. Anarchist Archaeologists on The Dawn of EverythingWelcome back to my continuing coverage of the Graeber and Wengrow book The Dawn of Everything. This week, I'm joined by four members of the Black Trowel Collective, a network of anarchist archeologists: James Birmingham, Lewis Borck, James Flexner, and Aris Politopoulos. This is part one of our roundtable discussion, covering first impressions of the book and its place in recent work on archaeology.To support underrepresented archaeologists financially, check out Black Trowel's revolutionary grant program: Black Trowel Microgrants.And for more from Aris Politopoulos, check out our episode on videogames.
2022-06-2249 minaideasIntroducing AIdeasRight now, there are people out there creating minds. And there are people who study minds – most of whom have argued that human thought is a unique, almost sacred thing that can never be replicated. These groups almost never overlap. This podcast seeks to bridge that gap.
2022-06-2016 minEveryday Anarchism047. The High Sierra -- Kim Stanley RobinsonKim Stanley Robinson joins me to discuss his new book, The High Sierra: A Love Story. Stan and I discuss literary form, the need for Keynesianism in a crisis, utopian camping, his solution to leftist infighting, and how humanity can survive our current climate nightmare. You might also like Stan's most recent novel, a future history of how a worldwide crisis response to the climate emergency would work: The Ministry for the Future.
2022-06-1556 minEveryday Anarchism046. Kropotkin's Theory of Revolution -- Iain McKayIain McKay joins me to discuss the new edition of Kropotkin's Words of a Rebel from PM Press. In this book, Kropotkin's very first, he lays out the need for a revolution and how to prepare for that revolution. It's strikingly relevant, beautifully written, and packed with all sorts of context from Iain. I highly recommend the book!
2022-06-081h 12Everyday Anarchism045. Mohandas Gandhi - "Passive Resistance" from Hind SwarajIn this episode of Anarchism 101: An Anarchist Syllabus, Abby Russ and I read Gandhi's "Passive Resistance" from his anarchist manifesto, Hind Swaraj.This project is year-long; on the first of each month of 2022, I'll be posting my reading of an important anarchist text. Later that month, I'll post an episode in which I discuss each text and its author with a scholar of anarchism. Look forward to my discussion of this text with KP Shankaran on June 29
2022-06-0120 minEveryday Anarchism044. Fight Like Hell -- Kim KellyLabor journalist Kim Kelly joins me to discuss her new book, Fight Like Hell: The Untold History of American Labor. We talk unions, what they did historically, what they're doing right now, and most of all how they can make an impossible future possible.
2022-05-2533 minEveryday Anarchism043. Anarchism is...CapitalismThe heart of modern capitalism is the exploitation of workers. But according to all of the great theorists of capitalism, capitalism will actually prevent the exploitation of labor. So maybe all those thinkers are just wrong. But maybe what we call "capitalism" is just an updated form of feudal serfdom in which CEOs and middle managers have replaced monarchs and aristocrats. But if we are living not in capitalism but what David Graeber called "managerial feudalism," just what would capitalism look like? I do my best to answer that question.
2022-05-1844 minEveryday Anarchism042. The Tragedy of Climate Change ScienceThis week I'm joined by Bruce Glavovic, Iain White, and Tim Smith to discuss their recent article "The Tragedy of Climate Science." In the article, these three climate scientists point out the obvious: climate scientists keep making increasingly dire predictions, and politicians keep doing nothing. In a recent survey, a majority of climate scientists expect catastrophic global warming to occur despite all their work. So why keep doing it? Maybe it's time for the climate scientists to stop doing science as usual, and start doing scientific activism.
2022-05-111h 13Everyday Anarchism041. American Democracy -- Corey RobinThis week I'm joined by Corey Robin, author of The Reactionary Mind, to discuss American democracy in the wake of the January 6th attack and the supposed crisis of democracy it caused. Corey and I discuss democracy as a process, the work that needs to be done to support that process, and how Karl Rove was right about one thing: it's our job to imagine and realize a different world.
2022-05-0448 minEveryday Anarchism040. Bakunin's "God and the State" -- Mark LeierIn this May 2022 discussion episode of Anarchism 101, I discuss an excerpt of Bakunin's God and the State with Mark Leier. Join me and Mark as we discuss Bakunin's place in revolutionary thinking, his status as a founding anarchist, his dispute with Marx, and his relevance to contemporary debates about science and democracy.This project is year-long; on the first of each month of 2022, I'll be posting my reading of an important anarchist text. Later that month, I'll post an episode in which I discuss each text and its author.If you have any questions, email...
2022-05-011h 04Everyday Anarchism039. Playing the Past -- Aris PolitopoulosOn this episode I'm joined by Aris Politopoulos, an archeologist who works on video games, to discuss the way that video games can help us understand the past, help us educate people about the past, and possibly make the entire project of understanding history more anarchist.Aris does much of his work on video games as part of the VALUE Foundation; you can find them on Twitter, Twitch, YouTube, or at their website. And to see the Roman Minecraft project, checkout https://romeincraft.n
2022-04-2453 minEveryday Anarchism038. Anarchism is...Pirates -- Gabriel KuhnFor this episode I'm joined by Gabriel Kuhn, author of Life Under the Jolly Roger: Reflections on Golden Age Piracy, to discuss the anarchist nature of 18th century pirates. Join us to learn about all the ways that pirates lived more freely, more justly, and with less violence than their counterparts in European navies and merchant ships. Gabriel also discusses the connections between pirate radicalism and radical movements in the 21st century.To read the pirate codes from this period, here's a link from wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pirate_code
2022-04-2058 minEveryday Anarchism037. Anarchism is...Deweyan Democracy with John McGowanI'm joined by one of my dissertation directors, John McGowan, to discuss the philosophy of John Dewey in the context of anarchism. Dewey is today remembered as one of the premier advocates for democracy, and especially democratic education, in the entire history of the United States. And like his teacher William James and his collaborator Jane Addams, he seems more than a little anarchist to me. We'll see if John agrees.As always, you can find me at www.everydayanarchism.com.
2022-04-131h 00Everyday Anarchism036. Ukrainian Identity and Russian Imperialism with Graeme RobertsonOn this episode I'm Graeme Robertson, co-author of Putin vs. the People, joins me to discuss Putin's invasion of Ukraine, the formation of the new Ukrainian national identity, and the way that nationalism, imperialism, and neoliberalism have shaped the current situation. Graeme debunks right-wing talking points about the war, provides necessary context from recent Ukrainian and Russian history, and reminds us all what's at stake in this war. For more from Graeme, check out his article in the Washington Post.To support the struggle against this war, you can donate to an anarchist group supporting refugees and...
2022-04-061h 03
Everyday Anarchism035. Mikhail Bakunin - from "God and the State"In this episode of Anarchism 101: An Anarchist Syllabus, I read Bakunin's famous discussion of science and authority from God and the StateThis project is year-long; on the first of each month of 2022, I'll be posting my reading of an important anarchist text. Later that month, I'll post an episode in which I discuss each text and its author with a scholar of anarchism.If you have any questions you would like answered about the text or Bakunin, email me at everydayanarchismpodcast@gmail.com As always, you can find me at www.everydayanarchism...
2022-04-0117 min
Everyday Anarchism034. Proudhon's "What is Property" with Edward CastletonIn this March 2022 discussion episode of Anarchism 101, I discuss an excerpt of Proudhon's "What is Property" with Edward Castleton. Join me and Edward as we discuss Proudhon's theory of property, the revolutionary context of his works, and the sense in which he deserves to be considered one of the founders of anarchism.This project is year-long; on the first of each month of 2022, I'll be posting my reading of an important anarchist text. Later that month, I'll post an episode in which I discuss each text and its author. Look forward to Bakunin in April 2022!...
2022-03-301h 24Everyday Anarchism033. The Shame Machine With Cathy O'NeilCathy O'Neil - a veteran of both Wall Street and Occupy Wall Street - joins me to discuss her new book, The Shame Machine. We discuss her previous book, Weapons of Math Destruction, how it led her to The Shame Machine, and how shame has become an invisible currency sustaining capitalism's most exploitative practices. Cathy outlines how social media "cancellations" are just free advertisements for social media companies, while the oligarchs and meritocrats who truly deserve to be shamed not only don't get shamed but also manage to profit off the shame everyone else is feeling. I don't think...
2022-03-2349 minEveryday Anarchism032. Anarchism is...The Dawn of EverythingJust before his death, David Graeber completed a manuscript of a book called The Dawn of Everything - both a serious attempt to provide an entirely new story of the origin of "civilization" and playful takedown of other recent books that purport to explain civilization. Written with David Wengrow, The Dawn of Everything raises many fabulous and provocative questions: what if it was indigenous Americans, not Europeans, who started the Enlightement? What if the modern state isn't "progress" but actually a form of society that's been tried and discarded hundreds of times? And, most of all, what if most...
2022-03-1646 minEveryday AnarchismBonus Episode: A Report from Ukrainian AnarchistsIn this emergency Ukrainian war episode, I'm joined by Stan, the coeditor of the website for Assembly, an anarchist group in Ukraine. Assembly's main role, as he explains in our talk, is organization and mutual aid in neighborhoods of Kharkov. In our conversation, Stan and I talk about the situation in Kharkov, the role of anarchism at this time of crisis, and what you can do to help. Below you can find a variety of links shared by Stan about the situation and how you can help. Below that is a transcript of my conversation with Stan.For more i...
2022-03-1616 minEveryday Anarchism031. Anarchism is...Bread with Mark Bittman and Kerri ConanFinally, on Everyday Anarchism, we turn to bread! I'm joined by Mark Bittman and Kerri Conan to discuss their new book, Bittman Bread, and how baking bread using their method can be considered anarchism. We also talk about whether governments can be used to fight corporations, how to create a bread-based utopia, and why I was naive to think that the federal government would ever create a healthy, inclusive food system.For more from Mark and Kerri, check out their newsletter, The Bittman Project.As always, you can find me at www.everydayanarchism.com.
2022-03-091h 03
Everyday Anarchism030. Pierre-Joseph Proudhon - from "What is Property?"In this episode of Anarchism 101: An Anarchist Syllabus, I read Proudhon's famous declaration that property is theft in What is Property? This project is year-long; on the first of each month of 2022, I'll be posting my reading of an important anarchist text. Later that month, I'll post an episode in which I discuss each text and its author with a scholar of anarchism.If you have any questions you would like answered about the text or Proudhon, email me at everydayanarchismpodcast@gmail.com Look forward to Bakunin in April 2022!As always...
2022-03-0245 min
Everyday Anarchism029. Anarchism is...Mardi Gras with Meredith KingIn this episode, Meredith King of the University of New Orleans joins me to discuss Mardi Gras. We begin with the liberatory possibility of historical carnivals, as drawn from the works of David Graeber and Mikhail Bakhtin, then examine all of the many ways that Mardi Gras does and doesn't provide a space for freedom and grassroots organization.As always, you can find me at www.everydayanarchism.com.
2022-03-0157 min
Everyday Anarchism028. Peter Kropotkin's "Anarchism" with Ruth KinnaIn this February 2022 discussion episode of Anarchism 101, I discuss Kropotkin's "Anarchism" with Ruth Kinna. Join me and Ruth as we discuss Kropotkin's life, his place in the history of anarchism, and his analysis of anarchism as both a modern movement and an ancient practice.For more from Ruth, check out her discussion of the anarchism of Santa Claus with me and the overview of the history of anarchism on In Our Time.This project is year-long; on the first of each month of 2022, I'll be posting my reading of an important anarchist text. Later that...
2022-02-2359 minEveryday Anarchism027. Anarchism is...James Fallows's Our TownsThis episode features my conversation with James Fallows, a legendary journalist whose work Our Towns is one of the inspirations for Everyday Anarchism. James and his wife Deb flew all over the country in their small airplane, documenting the ways that American democracy works at the grassroots level. In this conversation, James and I discuss the dysfunction of the federal government, the historically reactionary nature of the federal government, and the way that our towns offer a grassroots alternative to that reactionary system. Plus I try to convince James that his efforts against leaf blowers will save the world.
2022-02-1659 minEveryday Anarchism026. An Anarchist Pilgrimage to Barcelona with Dave Zirin and Mike StarkThis week we go to Barcelona - today's Barcelona, where the memory of the heroic anarchist revolution of the 1930s mostly goes unmemorialized. My guests, Dave Zirin and Mike Stark, traveled to Barcelona and visited sites of revolutionary struggle. Join me, Dave, and Mike as we discuss their trip, the radical history of Barcelona, the local leftists they met in the city, and how we can work together to memorialize the sacred spaces of anarchist struggles. If you'd like to read Dave's original article about the trip, check it out here: https://www.thenation.com/article/society/barcelona-olympics/
2022-02-0945 minEveryday Anarchism025. Education as Gift with Andreas WittelThis week's episode is another in my ongoing series about the takeover of higher education by bureaucracy and managerialism. I'm joined by Andreas Wittel of Nottingham Trent University to discuss his idea of education as a gift, not a commodity. We also discuss the ways that we can work together to hold things in common, alternatives to the current educational model, the coming environmental collapse of capitalism, and the need to provide basic necessities for all people. You can learn more about Andreas's work here: https://nottinghamtrent.academia.edu/AndreasWittel As always, you can find me at...
2022-02-0253 min
Everyday Anarchism024. Peter Kropotkin - "Anarchism" for Encyclopedia BritannicaIn this episode of Anarchism 101: An Anarchist Syllabus, I read Kropotkin's historical overview of anarchism, published in the 1911 edition of Encyclopedia Britannica. If you would prefer to read the essay, you can find it here: https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica/AnarchismThis project is year-long; on the first of each month of 2022, I'll be posting my reading of an important anarchist text. Later that month, I'll post an episode in which I discuss each text and its author with a scholar of anarchism.If you have any questions you would...
2022-02-0137 min
Everyday Anarchism023. Emma Goldman's "Anarchism" with Kathy Ferguson and Penny WeissIn this first discussion episode of Anarchism 101, I'm joined by eminent Goldman scholars to discuss Emma Goldman's "Anarchism: What it Really Stands For." Join me, Kathy Ferguson, and Penny Weiss as we discuss the text and where it fits in Goldman's thinking and the history of anarchismThis project is year-long; on the first of each month of 2022, I'll be posting my reading of an important anarchist text. Later that month, I'll post an episode in which I discuss each text and its author. Look forward to Kropotkin in February 2022!If you have any questions...
2022-01-2656 minEveryday Anarchism022. Anarchism is...Martin Luther King's Universal Basic IncomeThis week's episode comes out a little early in honor of MLK!This episode places Martin Luther King Jr. right where I think he belongs: in the midst of the anarchist tradition. The focus is on Universal Basic Income, the idea which King adopted in the year before his assassination as a solution to poverty. King argues in Where Do We Go From Here? that the direct abolition of poverty is not only desperately needed for everyone, but also the key to continuing the fight against systemic racism. This episode also covers UBI as discussed by David...
2022-01-1736 minEveryday Anarchism021. Anarchism is...FC St. Pauli with Fabian FritzOn Tuesday, January 18, German soccer giants Borussia Dortmund take the field against FC St. Pauli, a second division soccer team from Hamburg (in the US you can watch it on ESPN+). So who is FC St. Pauli? Why do they use the jolly roger as a logo, blast heavy metal and punk rock, and fly communist and anarchist flags?In anticipation of this big game, join me and Fabian Fritz, the director of education at the FC St. Pauli museum, to learn the history of the club, its takeover by the Nazis during Hitler's regime, its left-wing...
2022-01-1252 minEveryday Anarchism020. Critical University Studies with Liz MorrishIn this week's episode I'm joined by Dr. Liz Morrish, a leading critic of the current state of universities. Liz and I discuss the craze for evaluating people based on numbers and the damage it does to the very real people trying to teach, research, and learn in academia. We also discuss academic free speech, the University of Austin Texas's half-baked solutions, the overselling of "STEM" majors as a career path, and Liz's personal journey from critic inside academia to critic outside of it.You can find more from Liz at her blog, Academic Irregularities, and as...
2022-01-0553 min
Everyday Anarchism019. Emma Goldman - Anarchism: What it Really Stands forIn this inaugural episode of Anarchism 101: An Anarchist Syllabus, I read Goldman's famous essay. If you would prefer to read the essay, you can find it here: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/2162/2162-h/2162-h.htm#anarchismThis project is year-long; on the first of each month of 2022, I'll be posting my reading of an important anarchist text. Later that month, I'll post an episode in which I discuss each text and its author.If you have any questions you would like answered about the text or Goldman, email me at everydayanarchismpodcast@gmail.com If you...
2022-01-0132 minEveryday Anarchism018. Anarchism is...the Bundesliga (with Julian Einfeldt)Association football, also known as soccer, is one of the most beloved of all human pursuits. It's also one of the most democratic, most grassroots, most anarchist. Lately, though, billionaires, especially petro-billionaires and American sports billionaires, have been trying to take soccer away from the people. Now the petro-billionaires are squabbling with the American billionaires to see if soccer should become more like American football.In this episode I'll explain the corporate communism for billionaires of the NFL, the corporate anarchy for billionaires of English football, and the democracy of the German Bundesliga. For the second half...
2021-12-291h 09
Everyday Anarchism017. The Twilight Zone's Christmas RomanceFor the second Christmas special from Everyday Anarchism in 2021, I'm doing a reading of "The Night of the Meek," season 2, episode 11 of The Twilight Zone. I begin with an explanation of a genre I'm calling "Christmas Romance," then show how that episode of The Twilight Zone puts the classic twilight zone twist on the Christmas romance. Along the way I touch on Shakespearean romances, the power of Christmas to transform society, Dickens' A Christmas Carol, and whether or not Die Hard is a Christmas movie.As always, you can find me at www.everydayanarchism.com
2021-12-2247 min
Everyday Anarchism016. Anarchism is...Santa Claus! -- Ruth KinnaFor the first of two Christmas specials from Everyday Anarchism, I'm joined by Ruth Kinna to discuss the anarchism of Christmas and Santa Claus. You can read Ruth's article on the topic here: An Anarchist Guide to ChristmasNext week, another Christmas episode, this time on "The Night of the Meek," season 2, episode 11 of The Twilight Zone. As always, you can find me at www.everydayanarchism.com
2021-12-1541 minEveryday Anarchism015. The Meritocracy -- William DeresiewiczThis week's episode is the first of several episodes about how colleges and universities have abandoned their core mission - the collaborative search for truth - in favor of, well, something else. My guest for this episode is William Deresiewicz, author of Excellent Sheep, The Death of the Artist, and the landmark essay ""Don't Send Your Kid to the Ivy League." Bill and I discuss the meritocracy and the damage it is doing to our students, our colleges, and our political institutions. We also discuss the way that the meritocratic language around "diversity" obscures the actual problems and solutions...
2021-12-081h 02Everyday Anarchism014. Anarchism is...Breaking (Supply) ChainsWe've got a supply chain crisis! But the supply chain is the crisis. The supply chain isn't some new, efficient, capitalist remnant of colonialism and slavery. In fact, colonialism and slavery were developed to feed the supply chain. The supply chain came first. So if we want to be free, we can't fix the supply chain. We've got to abolish the supply chain.In this episode, we explore the colonialist history of the supply chain, discuss its devastating impact on workers and the environment, and talk about anarchist ways to resist the supply chain.For...
2021-12-0150 minEveryday Anarchism013. Anarchism is...Crossword Puzzles -- Leonard WilliamsThis week's episode is an interview with Professor Leonard Williams, a professor of political science, crossword puzzle constructor, and author of the new book, Black Blocks, White Squares: Crosswords with an Anarchist Edge. Join me and Professor Williams for a discussion of that book, plus the anarchist nature of 60s protests, the forces driving the rebirth of anarchism in the 21st century, and even the anarchist nature of constructing and solving crossword puzzles. You can get the book at your local bookstore, or directly from the publisher, AK Press: https://www.akpress.org/blackblockswhitesquares.htmlIf any...
2021-11-2452 minEveryday Anarchism012. Anarchism Is...ScienceScience is real! At least that's what my neighbor's sign says. But what does it mean to claim that science is real? Aren't lots of things real?In this episode, I argue that "science is real" is a claim that science isn't just real, it has access to a higher reality, one that nonscientists aren't allowed to argue with. This means science isn't just real, it's the boss. Which isn't very anarchist.Luckily for us, though, scientists and the scientific process don't actually work this way. How does science work? Anarchism.
2021-11-1743 minEveryday Anarchism011. Q&A: Anarchism and the Political ProcessIn this Q&A episode, I respond to questions about voting, juries, and other elements of the political process. Tune in to hear how I think we can use parts of the political process, like voting and the justice system, to try to make the world a more anarchist place. I also answer two questions about David Graeber, in anticipation of his new book, The Dawn of Everything, coming out this week!View this post on the Everyday Anarchism Website here.
2021-11-1040 minEveryday Anarchism010. Anarchism is...Jesus of Nazareth - Part 2: Jesus of NazarethNow that Jesus Christ is out of the way, we can study Jesus of Nazareth, the anarcho-communist who hated property, encouraged his followers to share everything together, and sent the rich to hell without even thinking about it. Our guide to this Jesus is Walter Rauschenbusch, whose bold claim for Jesus as a socialist in the early 20th century reverberated around the world. This Jesus actually thought the last could be first. And he didn't have much time for lawyers, philosophers, priests, judges, emperors, and anyone else who held power.www.everydayanarchism.com
2021-11-0349 minEveryday Anarchism009. Q&A: Who Counts as an Anarchist?In this episode, I dive into the definition of anarchism. Are the street fighters of the black bloc "really" "anarchists"? Is cooperation really all it takes to be an "anarchist"? Why even bother with this dangerous term "anarchism" anyway? Was Tolstoy even an "anarchist"?If you want to skip to a specific question:01:50 - Do everyday anarchists and black bloc anarchists even believe the same thing?23:35 - Where does the word anarchism come from? Couldn't we just use "mutual aid" or even "cooperation"?28:20 - Why use the word anarchism when it's...
2021-10-2739 minEveryday Anarchism008. Anarchism is...Jesus of Nazareth - Part 1: Jesus ChristJesus of Nazareth was an anarchist. But he doesn't get talked about too much by Christians. Instead, Christians tend to focus on Jesus Christ, who was made up by the Romans more than 300 years after Jesus died. I'll talk about the anarchist Jesus of Nazareth next time; this week is all about how a visionary, anti-clerical, anti-imperial, anarcho-communist mystic became a vessel for clerical and imperial power.According to Nietzsche, our story starts with the Greek philosopher Plato and ends up in the Roman Catholic church. Plus I'll tell you how George Washington and Dwight D. Eisenhower...
2021-10-2037 minEveryday Anarchism007. Q&A: Should Anarchists Support Vaccine Mandates?In this Q&A episode, I devote most of the time to the question of vaccine mandates. Also included are:0:20 - New website, and updates about the podcast's growth and how to support it. Go to www.everydayanarchism.com!4:40 - Should anarchists support vaccine mandates?31:15 - What's the connection between anarchism and utopia (featuring quotes from Oscar Wilde)38:55 - Do states hate anarchism because they are afraid it will work (featuring quotes from Ian Forrest)
2021-10-1345 minEveryday Anarchism006. Anarchism Is...DivorceMarriage is a patriarchal, capitalistic tool of oppression. But John Milton, the man who made Satan a revolutionary hero, suggested that marriage could be rendered empowering, not oppressive. By divorce! Join me for the everyday anarchism of divorce - as well as a brief history of patriarcho-capitalistic marriage and Emma Goldman's scathing condemnation of it. Also briefly discussed are the castle doctrine and its relationship to marriage, Frederick Douglass's condemnation of chattel slavery, and Michael Warner's critique of gay marriage.
2021-10-0649 minEveryday Anarchism005. Interview: Anarchism is...Tolkien with Sam BrockTolkien expert and fellow podcaster Sam Brock joins me for a discussion of Tolkien's anarchism! In my attempts to convince Sam that anarchism is the true hero of The Lord of the Rings, we discuss Ents as eco-terrorists, the Shire as a conservative anarchist utopia, Aragorn as a monarch who never governs, and power as the true villain.Check out Sam's podcast, Quenya Questions in Quarantine, if you want to go deep into the backstory of The Lord of the Rings with Sam and his cohost Raleigh: https://open.spotify.com/show/2AOvC2rYiJjK9yUGpNYxA7
2021-10-0458 minEveryday Anarchism004. Q&A: Was Tolkien's Anarchism Selfish?I answer a question about Tolkien's anarchism, then a series of questions about anarchism, everyday anarchism, and why they matter! Featuring Tolkien's environmentalism, a conventional definition of libertarianism and an anarchist definition of libertarianism, discussion of Robert Nozick and Abdullah Öcalan, Kurdistan, the Paris Commune, the Spanish Civil War, and more!
2021-10-0139 minEveryday Anarchism003. Anarchism is...J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the RingsTolkien was an anarchist. So was Gandalf. In fact, anarchism is the hero of The Lord of the Rings - or at least, I think so.
2021-09-2241 min