The Regrettable Century

This week we continue our discussion of Napoleon Bonaparte with our comrade Matthew. We start out tying up some loose ends and then discuss the upcoming Ridley Scott movie and the many variations of Bonapartism.  Music: Marche du Sacre de Napoléon Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

This week we had our long time comrade and resident France expert, Matthew, back on the show to talk about the mixed legacy of Napoleon Bonaparte. Was Napoleon a force for progress or the death of the revolution? The answer is yes. Revolutionary Figures: Napoleon Bonaparte https://blogs.kent.ac.uk/ageofrevolution/revolutionary-figures/napoleon-bonaparte/# Napoleon: Hegelian Hero https://www.napoleon.org/en/history-of-the-two-empires/articles/napoleon-hegelian-hero/ Hegel and Napoleon: On Heroes and the Sublime in History https://minervawisdom.com/2020/04/13/hegel-and-napoleon-on-heroes-and-the-sublime-in-history/ Music: Chant du départ, the anthem of the first French Empire.  Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

A little bonus episode for you this week. Here is the audio of a lecture that Kevin gave at the Cascadian Midsummer festival this summer about William Morris.  Check out Cascadian Midsummer here:  https://www.cmfest.org/ Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

This week we continue our series reading from Rodney Hilton's collection of essays about the Crisis of Feudalism. These are pretty short essays, but we will no doubt be talking about them forever. Hilton, Rodney. Class Conflict and the Crisis of Feudalism. A&C Black, 1985. Check out Varn Vlog: https://www.patreon.com/varnvlog Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

This week we discussed a book about the collapse of the Soviet Union and guess what, it wasn't the result of the United States' efforts to defeat the Evil Empire. It's much dumber and worse than that. Serhii Plokhy. 2015. The Last Empire : The Final Days of the Soviet Union. New York: Basic Books, A Member Of The Perseus Books Group. Head over to our Patreon and join for $2 a month to hear the whole episode and join the Discord to take part in the discussions. Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

The original dudes are back, with an original dudes topic revisiting our pessimism (because of intellect) and our optimism (because of will). No it's not just a doomer affectation that we can use to sound as cool as we look, its a critical method of engaging with the bleak reality that faces us. The only way out is through but getting through is possible. Revolutionary Pessimism: The Worst is Yet to Come https://www.christiansocialism.com/2020/05/12/covid-peter-fleming-revolutionary-pessimism-capitalism/ Pessimism of the Will https://viewpointmag.com/2020/05/28/pessimism-of-the-will/ CRITICAL PESSIMISM AND THE LIMITS OF TRADITIONAL MARXISM  https://www.jstor.org/stable/657342  For A Refresher: The Proper Amount of Bumming People Out: Pessimisms and Optimisms of Intellect and Will https://regrettablecentury.buzzsprout.com/220523/1410229-the-proper-amount-of-bumming-people-out-pessimisms-and-optimisms-of-intellect-and-will Scattered Thoughts on Melancholia and the Organization of Pessimism https://regrettablecentury.buzzsprout.com/220523/1320682-scattered-thoughts-on-melancholia-and-the-organization-of-pessimism Pessimism of the Intellect, Pessimism of the Will https://regrettablecentury.buzzsprout.com/220523/889740-pessimism-of-the-intellect-pessimism-of-the-will Music- Англия - Сказочный мир Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

This week we start a new series where we read from Rodney Hilton's collection of essays about the Crisis of Feudalism. These are pretty short essays, but we will no doubt be talking about them forever. Hilton, Rodney. Class Conflict and the Crisis of Feudalism. A&C Black, 1985. Check out Varn Vlog: https://www.patreon.com/varnvlog Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

Welcome to our fourth reading group episode on Revolution: An Intellectual History, by Enzo Traverso. This week we discuss the revolutionary intellectual.  Traverso, Enzo. 2021. Revolution : An Intellectual History. London ; New York: Verso. https://www.versobooks.com/products/2783-revolution Head over to our Patreon and join for $2 a month to hear the whole episode and join the Discord to take part in the discussions. Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

We think degrowth is going to be necessary, but we also think the debate about degrowth has been all wrong.  We read the newest issue of Monthly Review and had a discussion about the politics of degrowth. Planned Degrowth: Ecosocialism and Sustainable Human Development https://monthlyreview.org/2023/07/01/planned-degrowth/  Nine Theses on Ecosocialist Degrowth https://monthlyreview.org/2023/07/01/nine-theses-on-ecosocialist-degrowth/  (Here’s the whole issue) https://monthlyreview.org/product/mr-075-03-2023-07/ Music: Bad Religion- Watch it Die  Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

Back with another book that Chris read in grad school, this time we are dealing with the problem of repopulating the Soviet Union after the Second World War.  Please forgive the intermittent audio problems with Jason's track, we are still trying to figure out how to record in the same room and actually make it sound good. Mie Nakachi. Replacing the Dead : The Politics of Reproduction in the Postwar Soviet Union. New York, Ny: Oxford University Press, 2021. Head over to our Patreon and join for $2 a month to hear the whole episode and join the Discord to take part in the discussions. Support the show Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the show Visit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop