Jacobin Radio

On this episode of A World to Win, Grace speaks to Shon Faye, writer, artist, comedian, and author of the forthcoming book The Transgender Issue: An Argument for Justice. They discuss the prevalence of transphobia in the UK, why the transgender issue is also a class issue, and how socialists can and should support the fight for trans rights.You can support our work on the show by becoming a Patron. Thanks to our producer Conor Gillies and the Lipman-Miliband Trust for making this episode possible.

Jonathan Guyer of The American Prospect joins Suzi to discuss his August 26 piece called, "The Unheeded Dissent Cable." This is a knockout—a devastating memo, all the more so because it was sent to the State Department on July 13, and was then buried, never reaching the White House and National Security Council. We get Jonathan’s understanding of how this memo could have been ignored, and what it says about the Biden administration’s national security team.Veena Dubal, Law Professor at UC Hastings, explains the August 20 decision [PDF: https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/21046832/castellanos-order.pdf] ruling Prop. 22 unconstitutional and “unenforceable in its entirety.” Written and funded by Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Instacart and Postmates, Prop 22 rewrote labor law in favor of the app-based transportation and delivery network companies, allowing their workers to be classified as independent contractors not employees. Prop 22 deprives workers of overtime pay, unemployment and workers’ compensation coverage, and the right to unionize. And the gig companies that authored Prop 22 made it nearly impossible to change, requiring a seven-eighths vote by the California legislature to modify it. But now Judge Roesch has declared Proposition 22 unconstitutional and unenforceable, and Veena Dubal explains the ruling, the grounds for the Judge’s decision, the response of the companies, and what is likely to happen next.

Jacobin contributor Matt Huber joins Weekends to explain why appeals to "science" and "truth" and individual lifestyle changes won’t be enough to halt climate change or win a majority of workers over to an environmental movement. Any successful program to counter climate change must be rooted in a working class constituency, he argues. Weekends with Ana Kasparian and Nando Vila features free-flowing and humorous commentary on current events and political strategy. This is the podcast version of the show from August 27, 2021.Verso book club: https://www.versobooks.com/bookclubMusic provided by Zonkey: https://linktr.ee/zonkeyPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/jacobinmag

The journalist Jamie Maxwell joins Long Reads for a discussion on Scottish independence. Jamie writes for Al Jazeera, Vice, the New Statesman, the Herald, and other publications.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.Read Jamie's essay for Jacobin, "The Scottish National Party Can't Be Trusted to Tackle the Climate Crisis" here: https://www.jacobinmag.com/2021/08/scottish-national-party-climate-greens-nicola-sturgeonProduced by Conor Gillies, music by Knxwledge.

Maximillian Alvarez, editor in chief of The Real News and host of the podcast Working People, joins us to discuss the fortieth anniversary of Ronald Reagan breaking the air traffic controllers' strike, care work after the pandemic, and the future of organized labor and class struggle in the US.The Jacobin Show offers socialist perspectives on class and capitalism in the twenty-first century, the failures of liberalism, and the prospects of rebuilding a left labor movement in the US. This is the podcast version of the show from August 24, 2021 with Paul Prescod and Jen Pan hosting.Subscribe to Jacobin for just $10: https://jacobinmag.com/subscribe/?code=JACOBINYTMusic provided by Zonkey: https://linktr.ee/zonkeyPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/jacobinmag

Dan interviews scholars Aldo Madariaga and Camila Vergara about how Chilean politics have been playing out since the massive popular uprisings that began in October 2019.Further reading:jacobinlat.com/2021/06/19/el-neoliberalismo-atenta-contra-la-democracia-2newleftreview.org/sidecar/posts/burying-pinochetjacobinmag.com/2021/06/rene-rojas-interview-democracy-new-constitution-constituent-assembly-plebiscite-left-chileSupport The Dig at Patreon.com/TheDig and (soon) receive our weekly newsletter.

In 1987, Oliver Stone introduced the world to a man who was not your daddy's capitalist: Gordon Gekko. We revisit WALL STREET to consider the strengths and limitations of its distinctly New Deal Liberal perspective on American capitalism; to marinate in the particular left-liberal Boomer perspective of Stone; and determine once and for all if greed is, in fact, good.Michael and Us is a podcast about political cinema and our crumbling world hosted by Will Sloan and Luke Savage. To hear weekly bonus episodes, subscribe to the Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/michaelandus/

Erwin Chemerinsky, Dean of UC Berkeley Law explains the California recall procedure and argues that the rules of the recall violate constitutional principles, making the September 14 Recall election unconstitutional. This is an incredibly consequential election, and a lawsuit has been filed compelling the Courts to intervene and either prohibit the election or change the rules to allow Governor Newsom’s name to appear on the replacement candidate list. Chemerinsky argues that because the procedures specified by the California Constitution violate the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the recall should be stopped now. Otherwise voters risk allowing a candidate preferred by a small minority of Californians to be the next governor.Anthropologists Nancy Lindisfarne and Jonathan Neale did fieldwork in Afghanistan and have just published "Afghanistan: the End of the Occupation." The 20 year intervention ended in defeat for the US: 2448 American soldiers, 4000 US contractors and somewhere between 48,000 and 100,000 Afghans were killed. Many more were wounded, and one trillion dollars was spent on the war. Nancy and Jonathan help us understand the evolution of the Taliban from 2001 to 2021, unraveling stereotypes and confusion about the nature of the population’s support for them. They explain that support is the wrong word – Afghans had to choose sides and they chose the Taliban rather than the cruel and corrupt American occupiers, because the Taliban are the only force fighting the American occupation. We also ask about the challenges ahead for Afghans, especially women, the Hazara and other ethnicities, as well as the looming refugee crisis.

Economist Branko Milanovic joins Weekends to discuss the public's declining faith in capitalism, whether viable alternatives exist, how the system generates inequality, and whether social democracy can still play a role in ameliorating it. Weekends features free-flowing and humorous commentary on current events and political strategy. This is the podcast version of the show from August 20, 2021.Verso book club: https://www.versobooks.com/bookclubMusic provided by Zonkey: https://linktr.ee/zonkeyPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/jacobinmag

This week, we speak with Michael Goldfield, a former labor and civil rights activist and professor emeritus at Wayne State University and the author of several books, including The Southern Key: Class, Race, and Radicalism in the 1930s and 1940s, a great work of labor history.You can listen to Primer by searching for Jacobin Radio on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. If want to support the show, subscribe at patreon.com/primerpodcast. When you do so, you'll receive show notes and video content. To keep up with us elsewhere, follow @primerpod on Twitter.