Diet Soap - a podcast
Douglas Lain
The Diet Soap podcast began in 2009 in response to the economic crisis of 2008. Since then it has gone through many transformations, including becoming the podcast for a critical theory imprint out of the UK. Today the Diet Soap podcast is running under its original name for Sublation Media.Sublation Media includes a book publishing effort for critical theory and left politics, a magazine that covers current events and theoretical issues, youtube videos on theory and politics, and finally the Diet Soap podcast. The podcast is where we continue to interrogate the left and each other while having a good time.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Mar 26, 2026 • 1h 1min
Episode 678: Reproductive Freedom in a Wrong Life?
Ethan Linehan discusses his 2022 essay for Sublation Magazine entitled, "Wrong Life and Abortion." In the essay he critique's Conrad Hamilton's article "Abortion, Capitalism, and Demographic Control" and discusses how a living socialist movement would approach the question of reproduction and freedom.Wrong Life and Abortion at Sublation Magazinehttps://www.sublationmag.com/post/wrong-life-and-abortionSupport Sublation Mediahttps://patreon.com/dietsoap
Mar 20, 2026 • 1h 28min
Episode 677: Cutrone asks: What if the US wins?
In this Cutrone Zone, the Last Marxist asks: What if Trump and America actually win this conflict with Iran? Cutrone insists this is Trump's world and we just live in it. Not because this is a good thing, but because it's a political reality (Cutrone says). Who does it serve to think otherwise?Support Sublation Mediahttps://patreon.com/dietsoap
Mar 18, 2026 • 58min
Episode 676: The Death of Habermas
In this episode of Sublation Magazine, Benjamin Studebaker and Douglas Lain discuss the significance of Habermas. Can we still learn from the junior member of the Frankfurt School? Can there be Communicative Action? Support Sublation MediaHttps://patreon.com/dietsoap
Mar 11, 2026 • 1h 9min
Episode 675: Iran Still Under the Islamist Thumb
Mani is a member of the Expansive Realist Workshop in Portland, Oregon, an Iranian ex-pat, and an MD. In this episode of the Diet Soap podcast, he discusses the attacks on Iran, the Islamic Republic, Christopher Hitchens, and his hopes for an emancipated Iran. Support Sublation Media https://patreon.com/dietsoap
Mar 10, 2026 • 1h 5min
Episode 674: The Anti-War Movement?
Benjamin Studebaker and Douglas Lain continue to discuss the war on Iran. How should the left respond to the war on Iran? What was revolutionary defeatism? Will there be a draft? Can the US avoid a ground war? Support Sublation Mediahttps://patreon.com/dietsoap
Mar 6, 2026 • 1h 15min
Episode 673: Trump's Plan for Iran is Rational and Coherent
Chris Cutrone and Douglas Lain discuss Trump's invasion of Iran as an example of bourgeois politics. Rather than condemning the invasion from the perspective of neoliberalism, they neither condemn nor support but describe. Support Sublation Media on Patreonhttps://patreon.com/dietsoap
Mar 2, 2026 • 1h 8min
Episode 672: How To React Without a Left?
Benjamin Studebaker and Douglas Lain discuss the likely effect of the attacks on Iran. Where will this go next? What motivated the Trump administration? Who will run Iran now? Support Sublation Mediahttps;//patreon.com/dietsoap
Feb 25, 2026 • 1h 23min
Episode 671: C Wright Mills & Sociology's Problem With Marx
Join Spencer Leonard and Douglas Lain on "The Spencer Leonard Hour" as they engage in a systematic study of the history of sociology. They explore the intricate relation between sociological imagination and Marxist theory. This discussion offers a clear perspective on the economy through a socialist lens.Support Sublation Media on Patreonhttps://patreon.com/dietsoap
Feb 20, 2026 • 1h 21min
Episode 670: Why Socialists Should LOVE America
Chris Cutrone speaks out in defense of the American Revolution as vital to the struggle for socialism.Why Marxists loved Americahttps://www.sublationmag.com/post/why-marxists-loved-americaSupport Sublation Mediahttps://patreon.com/dietsoap
Feb 17, 2026 • 1h 18min
Episode 669: Try Being Civil?
Benjamin Studebaker and Douglas Lain discuss the question of civility in politics. What is the purpose of the principle of charity? Is civility a hindrance to politics? Support Sublation Mediahttps://patreon.com/dietsoap
