Jacobin Radio

Yassamine Mather, Iranian socialist activist and scholar who chairs Hands Off the People of Iran, speaks from contacts inside the country. She describes relentless bombings, hospital hits, internet blackouts, and conflicting media narratives. She discusses shifting public reactions, the impact of Khamenei’s death on IRGC behavior, Netanyahu’s aims, regional fallout, and a new solidarity initiative called NUR.

Salar Mohandesi, teacher and writer on emancipatory politics and red internationalism, and Ben Mabee, organizer and labor and imperialism analyst, discuss U.S. imperialism, shifting war-making tactics, and why strong anti-war sentiment has not produced mass movements. They cover historical roots, state complexity, offshoring violence to proxies, and strategies for rebuilding anti-imperial leverage.

Anatol Lieven, a foreign policy analyst focused on geopolitics and regional fallout. Behrooz Ghamari, historian of Iranian politics and culture. They discuss Iran's hybrid theocracy and elections. They trace repression, the limits of mass uprisings, and the role of foreign pressure. They analyze Israel's influence, regional destabilization, and why large-scale intervention is unlikely to produce lasting change.

Jeff (Geoff) Simpson, PAC director at Justice Democrats who builds left House slates, discusses the 2026 insurgent campaign strategy. He covers why primaries and recruiting working-class, community-rooted candidates matter. He also talks about corporate and AIPAC spending, Muslim donor energy after Gaza, and the need for national coordination to turn safe blue districts into left strongholds.

They trace how technology and management reshape work, turning skilled labor into simplified, replaceable tasks. They explore Braverman’s critique of scientific management and the rise of de-skilling. They consider why workplace conflict is structural and how democratizing workplaces could let productivity benefit workers rather than bosses.

Peter Linebaugh, historian of commons and enclosure, discusses Luddite machine-breaking and its defense as political action. He traces enclosure, capital punishment, and imprisonment in forging capitalist rule. Connections are drawn to slavery, industrial discipline, and modern gig-tech control.

Tessa West, NYU psychology professor who studies group dynamics, unpacks how social status, secrecy, and selective inclusion kept Epstein’s inner circle intact. Nick Cernak, AI scholar and author, surveys the economics, architecture, and risks of generative AI. Wanda Bertram, researcher at the Prison Policy Initiative, breaks down the $445 billion annual costs and budget trends driving mass incarceration.

Joshua Craze, writer and analyst of Sudan and South Sudan politics, discusses the capture of El Fasher and the massacre that followed. He traces Sudan’s post-2019 political shifts, the showdown between the Rapid Support Forces and the army, and how a war economy, regional powers, and grassroots networks shape the catastrophe.

Oleksandr Kyselov, a Ukrainian socialist and researcher from Donetsk, warns that proposed ceasefires risk leaving Ukraine under Russian control. Ksenia Kagarlitskaya, founder of Freedom Zone and campaigner for political prisoners, describes her father’s imprisonment and the surge in detainees. They discuss Russian aims, the contested 28-point plan, war weariness, and grassroots support for prisoners.

Stuart Schrader, historian and author on policing, explains how local police and unions can enable federal crackdowns. Naomi Hossain, SOAS development scholar, unpacks Bangladesh’s 2026 election, family rivalries, and rising Islamist politics. They discuss police political alignment, unions’ culture, and regional power shifts in short, incisive conversations.