Jacobin Radio

The Dutch Revolt of the sixteenth century defeated the Spanish monarchy, the great European superpower of its day. It may not be as well remembered as the English Civil War or the French Revolution. But it was a watershed moment in the development of modern Europe.Pepijn Brandon joins Long Reads to discuss the Dutch Revolt. He’s an historian at VU University in Amsterdam and the author of War, Capital, and the Dutch State. This is the first part of a two-part interview.Long Reads is a Jacobin podcast looking in-depth at political topics and thinkers, both contemporary and historical, with the magazine’s longform writers. Hosted by features editor Daniel Finn. Produced by Conor Gillies, music by Knxwledge.Get an audiobook from Pluto Press before the end of December and you'll be entered to win a set of their entire collection: tiny.one/jacobinAnd join the Left Book Club at a discount by using the code WINFREE at leftbookclub.com

The 20-year filmmaking career of Alexandra Pelosi has been building up to this moment: a hagiographic documentary portrait of her mother, the outgoing U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. We watched PELOSI IN THE HOUSE (2022)."Nancy Pelosi’s Daughter Makes Awful Documentaries Fawning Over the Establishment" by Will Sloan - https://jacobin.com/2022/12/nancy-alexandra-pelosi-documentary-filmmaking-establishment"Nancy Pelosi Delivered Little for the Left, but We Might Miss Her Anyway" by Branko Marcetic - https://jacobin.com/2022/11/nancy-pelosi-house-speaker-democratic-party-center"The Obamanauts" by Corey Robin - https://www.dissentmagazine.org/article/the-obamanautsMichael and Us is a podcast about political cinema and our crumbling world hosted by Will Sloan and Luke Savage.

Doug interviews Intercept reporter Ryan Grim, author of a recent article on railroad unions, about the fight between workers and bosses in the rail industry. Then we hear from economist Sanjay Reddy, who discusses the fight between adjuncts and bosses in the neoliberal university.Behind the News, hosted by Doug Henwood, covers the worlds of economics and politics and their complex interactions, from the local to the global. Find the archive here: https://www.leftbusinessobserver.com/Radio.html

Featuring Edward Goetz on his book New Deal Ruins: Race, Economic Justice, and Public Housing Policy. Goetz tells the story of American public housing and then its destruction and dismantling, which took off in the 1980s and accelerated during the 90s under the Clinton Administration’s Hope VI program.Support The Dig at Patreon.com/TheDig and get our weekly newsletter by email plus swag.Check out Light in Gaza: Writings Born of Firehaymarketbooks.org/books/1861-light-in-gaza

Suzi talks to UAW 2865 strikers Sarah Mason and Jack Davies of UC Santa Cruz and Johnathan Guy at UC Berkeley about the UC strike, the largest strike ever in American higher education. It is crunch time for the UC system as term ends and grades are due. The academic workers are demanding significant pay increases, childcare reimbursements, and support for international scholars. They recognize that this action has the potential to change the existing model of university education. We get their analysis, experience and hopes for the strike.Suzi then talks to labor historian Michael Goldfield about the showdown in Rail: President Biden pushed through a bill forcing a contract on 115,000 overworked and exhausted railworkers who have been fighting for paid sick leave. The demand for paid sick days is a placeholder for all the quality of life issues that railroad workers are facing after years of austerity while the rail companies enjoyed record profits. Biden invoked the 100-year-old Railway Labor Act to avert the strike, asking Congress to impose a settlement and compel the workers to accept a contract. Goldfield explains why this arcane Act to prevent transportation workers from striking came into being and why it is still in effect.Jacobin Radio with Suzi Weissman features conversations with leading thinkers and activists, with a focus on labor, the economy, protest movements.

In 1991, actor/martial artist/philosopher/current Russian special envoy to the U.S. Steven Seagal hosted Saturday Night Live for the first and only time. The result has gone down in history as one of the worst episodes of all time. We look back on this infamous show and find a nearly indecipherable time-capsule of the comedy and culture of the early 1990s. PLUS: Luke explores the relationship between celebrities and the NFT industry.Michael and Us is a podcast about political cinema and our crumbling world hosted by Will Sloan and Luke Savage.

Suzi joins Alan Minsky and Meleiza Figueroa of The People’s Game podcast for a deeper look at the history and politics behind the nationalist enmities on display during this World Cup, beyond the football. Racist chants and fascist slogans erupted from the Serbian side toward ethnic Albanians on the Swiss team, creating high stakes tension as Serbian players nearly came to blows with Switzerland’s star players who happen to be Albanian Kosovars. Where was FIFA? Was there discriminatory handling of the fans by the police who seemed uninterested in the offensive gestures, chants, and banners? The scenes at the stadium during the match take us right back to the Balkan wars of the 1990s following the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the fall of Yugoslavia. Suzi joins Meleiza and Alan for some political, economic, and historical background while Meleiza and Alan put this in broader perspective in the long history of football as politics – and history. Jacobin Radio with Suzi Weissman features conversations with leading thinkers and activists, with a focus on labor, the economy, protest movements.

Natalia Petrzela, author of Fit Nation, discusses the history of physical culture in the US. Then Doug interviews Paolo Gerbaudo on the weakness of the Italian bourgeoisie.Behind the News, hosted by Doug Henwood, covers the worlds of economics and politics and their complex interactions, from the local to the global. Find the archive here: https://www.leftbusinessobserver.com/Radio.html

Featuring Gail Radford on her classic book Modern Housing for America: Policy Struggles in the New Deal Era. Radford tells the story of Catherine Bauer, the Labor Housing Conference, and the struggle to make the American housing system a radically social one. In place of the two-tier system that won out, Bauer and her allies proposed a massive federally-backed system of noncommercial housing that would appeal to and house the majority of Americans.Support The Dig at Patreon.com/TheDigCheck out Revolutionary Social Democracy: Working-Class Politics Across the Russian Empire (1882-1917) by Eric Blanc haymarketbooks.org/books/1907-revolutionary-social-democracy

Eritrea’s long struggle for independence finally ended in victory three decades ago. It seemed like a fresh beginning for one of Africa’s smallest countries. But the Eritrean leader Isaias Afwerki soon established a highly repressive political system that caused many young people to flee. Since 2020, Afwerki’s army has been a key protagonist in one of the world’s most destructive wars.Michela Wrong, journalist and the author of several books about African politics including I Didn’t Do It For You, joins the podcast to discuss a history of modern Eritrea.Long Reads is a Jacobin podcast looking in-depth at political topics and thinkers, both contemporary and historical, with the magazine’s longform writers. Hosted by features editor Daniel Finn. Produced by Conor Gillies, music by Knxwledge.