Jacobin Radio

The quintessential American folk troubadour and a beloved national icon, Woody Guthrie was also a committed lefty for whom art and politics were intertwined. We discuss his life and legacy via Hal Ashby's biopic BOUND FOR GLORY (1976), which takes a broad look at Guthrie and during the Great Depression. PLUS: How Joe Biden crushed a railroad workers' strike.Michael and Us is a podcast about political cinema and our crumbling world hosted by Will Sloan and Luke Savage.

Jennifer Berkshire discusses the latest version of right-wing school politics (since the last versions haven’t been working for them). Then Doug interviews Jodi Dean, co-editor (along with Charisse Burden-Stelly) of Organize, Fight, Win, a collection of Black Communist women’s writings from the late 1920s into the early 1950s.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

Suzi talks to Alan Minsky and Meleiza Figueroa, creators and hosts of The People’s Game podcast, to get their unique perspectives on the 2022 Qatari World Cup. This is much more than soccer, but there is that too. They combine on-the-field analysis with discussions of the political, economic, and cultural subtexts of the World Cup—its intersection with climate, sport, society, rebellion, and everything else. This World Cup is all superlatives: the biggest sports spectacle in the world, with more people watching than ever. It is also the most expensive ever, by a long shot. The Qatari government has spent a staggering $250 billion building and remodeling the city for the event, a giant investment using sports for political influence. Alan and Meleiza then talk to David Goldblatt, author of The Age of Football: Soccer and the 21st Century about his recent article in the London Review of Books that explores the political messaging and many controversies of this World Cup. We see the brave protests and athletes sporting armbands expressing solidarity with women and the LGBTQ community. Less visible is Qatar’s migrant labor force working in searing heat to build literally everything on temporary work visas, without rights, adequate pay, or decent housing. Jacobin Radio with Suzi Weissman features conversations with leading thinkers and activists, with a focus on labor, the economy, protest movements.

Astra Taylor interviews William Hogeland on his book Founding Finance: How Debt, Speculation, Foreclosures, Protests, and Crackdowns Made Us a Nation. Hogeland recovers a fascinating crop of mostly-forgotten rebels, the movements they led, and their radical demands that put the landlords and lenders of their day on edge. He also recounts the complex and sometimes deadly machinations that went into suppressing them in order to create a nation that was safe for the owning and investing classes.Support The Dig at Patreon.com/TheDig

Released shortly before the attack on Pearl Harbor, Howard Hawks' SERGEANT YORK (1941) was an attempt to rouse popular support for America entering the Second World War. We excavate one of the biggest box office hits of its day and find a movie in which God and Country are pitted together, and Country wins. PLUS: we hash over some of the drastic and unhappy changes that have happened to our local government in Toronto, Canada.Michael and Us is a podcast about political cinema and our crumbling world hosted by Will Sloan and Luke Savage.

Tina Gerhardt discusses the COP27 climate conference. Lyle Jeremy Rubin, author of Pain Is Weakness Leaving the Body, speaks about connections between masculinity, the Marines, and imperial violence.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

Suzi talks to Jeremy Bigwood, investigative journalist, researcher, and photojournalist, about his observations and perceptions of Russia, where he has been living off and on since 2017. Jeremy’s insights are especially valuable as he spent the last five years talking to ordinary Russians—not the intelligentsia, in his words—and this helps our understanding of those who support Putin and the so-called special military operation, those who avoid taking a stance, and those who oppose Putin and the war. Jeremy left Moscow a week after Russia invaded Ukraine, going first to Odessa, then to the front lines near Mikolayiv, and from there to the front near Kherson. Jeremy returned to Washington DC a few months ago, bewildered by the divisions in the American left over the nature of the war, especially those who do not support, in his view, Ukraine’s defensive war for national survival. We get his perspective. Jacobin Radio with Suzi Weissman features conversations with leading thinkers and activists, with a focus on labor, the economy, protest movements.

Featuring Daniel Denvir on the Citations Needed podcast (as guest, not host) debunking the argument that "woke mobs" (liberal or left identity politics) drove white working-class men into MAGA's arms.  Support The Dig at Patreon.com/TheDig Check out our vast archives and newsletters at thedigradio.com

The World Cup is beginning this week in Qatar. The biggest sporting event on the planet is taking place this year under a hail of controversy. The process that awarded Qatar its role as host prompted allegations of corruption. There has also been media reporting about the atrocious working conditions on stadium construction sites.Jonathan Wilson, football columnist for the Observer and the author of several books, joins Long Reads to discuss the economic and political structures underpinning the world’s most popular sport.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.

Jodi Dean analyzes the political landscape in the wake of last week’s election. Tobias Hübinette, author of a recent Boston Review article, discusses the role of immigration in the backlash against Swedish social democracy.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