Rev Left Radio

Arlene Eisen, author and longtime anti-imperialist activist, reflects on a life in radical organizing. She recalls learning from Black liberation and international solidarity. Conversations cover militant women’s networks, solidarity travel and its limits, debates between collective anti-imperialist feminism and liberal approaches, and why building long-term, cross-border movements still matters.

Mohanad Alsayed, Palestinian author of Scars and Medals who grew up under occupation and exile. He recounts family stories, Nakba trauma, and a missing uncle turned to armed resistance. The conversation covers life at checkpoints, childhood scars, the meanings of resistance, regional politics, and why he wrote his memoir.

Susan Green, author, musician, and spiritual teacher exploring consciousness and healing. She reframes patriarchy as a deep structure that fragments selfhood and fuels disconnection. Conversations trace dismemberment, the inner patriarch, embodiment vs head-mindedness, reclaiming buried parts, and how inner work can strengthen compassionate social action.

Ashwin Shantha, a doctoral researcher on political economy and host of International Solidarity, discusses China’s green rise as a political project rooted in planning, sovereignty, and solidarity. Short takes cover how China built solar, wind, and EV industries, the role of industrial policy and disciplining capital, Belt and Road as South–South infrastructure, and debates over state capitalism versus a socialist market.

Dr. Afshin Matin‑Asgari, a historian of 20th‑century Iran and author of Axis of Empire, unpacks a long arc of Iran–U.S. interaction. He traces oil, military ties, the 1953 coup, the 1979 revolutionary rupture, and the era of sanctions and nuclear tension. They also examine the roles of militarization, transnational movements, and recent regional war dynamics.

They apply dialectical and historical materialist tools to make sense of the US and Israeli war on Iran. They trace 20th-century turning points like the 1953 coup, the 1979 revolution, sanctions, and recent assassinations. They analyze imperialism, oil, the petrodollar, and military-industrial motives. They contrast Marxist analysis with liberal internationalism, realism, game theory, and conspiracism.

Gianni Paul, a public high school social studies teacher and founder of The People's Classroom, traces how the Bush years reshaped U.S. politics and economy. He covers the contested 2000 election and its fallout. He discusses neoliberal policy, No Child Left Behind, 9/11 and its domestic impact, the lead-up to the Iraq War, the 2008 crash, and the costs borne by working-class communities.

A reading and reaction to an open letter from Iran's president about imminent military threats. Discussion of U.S. bases, historical U.S. interference, and the fallout from the 1953 coup. Debates over nuclear deals, regional power plays, and the risk of a ground invasion. Reflections on soldiers' motivations, asymmetric warfare, and the failures of the American left.

Joel Wainwright, professor of geography and author of The End, explores Marx’s debt to Darwin and how that reshapes a natural-historical reading of capitalism. They probe capitalism as a human–Earth formation, debates over ecological socialism and degrowth, and the political strategies—from local organizing to global climate mobilization—needed to confront the climate crisis.

Matthew Vernon Whalen, a writer and oral historian who investigates Alabama prisons, presents a vivid, interview-driven portrait of life inside Bullock Correctional Facility. He probes mental health collapse, sewage and infrastructure failure, violence and drug corruption. The conversation also explores racial dynamics, informal prisoner protections, and how daily survival shapes inner life.