“The challenge of modernity is to live without illusions and without becoming disillusioned.
I’m a pessimist because of intelligence, but an optimist because of will.”
-- Antonio Gramsci
The old forms of the Left are moribund and the new forms are stupid. We're making a podcast that discusses the need to organize a Dialectical Pessimism and develop a salvage project capable of sparking a new workers' movement for socialism.
A clean, honest, and unsentimental melancholy is required; we are cultivating one and would like to share it with you.
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Episodes
Monday May 04, 2026
Monday May 04, 2026
This week, the boys got together to finish the discussion about what appears to be a massive shift in the way the global system is ordered. Will it be better? Likely not. Will it present opportunities for rupture? Hopefully.
Why Is There No Antiwar Movement in the US?
https://jacobin.com/2026/03/iran-us-antiwar-movement-trump
Welcome to a Multidimensional Economic Disaster
The decline of the West and the rise of ‘the Rest’ will lead to a new world order
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Thursday Apr 30, 2026
Thursday Apr 30, 2026
Jason and Varn are back and discussing Dugin again. As the discussion of the book inches closer to conclusion, this discussion moves into Dugin's ideas about Fascism, Liberalism, and Communism and the need to transcend these ideologies in the 21st century before moving into the Heideggerian foundations of Dugin's thought.
Wednesday Apr 22, 2026
Wednesday Apr 22, 2026
This week, the boys got together to talk about what appears to be a massive shift in the way the global system is ordered. Will it be better? Likely not. Will it present opportunities for rupture? Hopefully.
Why Is There No Antiwar Movement in the US?
https://jacobin.com/2026/03/iran-us-antiwar-movement-trump
Welcome to a Multidimensional Economic Disaster
The decline of the West and the rise of ‘the Rest’ will lead to a new world order
This Is the Way a World Order Ends
Friday Apr 17, 2026
Friday Apr 17, 2026
This week's bonus episode is a close read of an article from Current Affairs titled What Is Fascism—And Why the Definition Matters by Abel Sterling. We found some merit in this article and decided it would form the basis of a good discussion. Stay tuned for part two.
Tuesday Apr 07, 2026
Tuesday Apr 07, 2026
In part VI the boys discuss theories of "decadence" as viewed by the Aufheben collective.
We focus on their early contributions to Marxist theory, critique of the state, and their eventual decline.
Note: Within days of recording this, the Iran war broke out, but this was recorded a few days before that started.
Key Topics Discussed:
The Roots of Aufheben: How the collective emerged within the landscape of radical Marxist theory.
Critique of Luxemburgism: Why Aufheben rejected theories of automatic economic collapse in favor of a more nuanced understanding of class struggle.
The Decay of Theory: Analyzing the shifts in the collective’s perspective that signaled a move away from their original radical foundations.
Theoretical Implications: How these debates on the "highest stage" of capitalism and the "rentier state" remain relevant in today's shifting global landscape.
https://www.patreon.com/c/varnvlog/posts
Monday Apr 06, 2026
Monday Apr 06, 2026
Trump's Big Nothingburger Speech, US Testing Weapons on Iranian Children, Gulf Arabs Want US Bases Out, India Importing Iranian Oil, US Casualty Coverup, Iranian Missiles are 80% Successful, Hezbollah is Taking a Huge Toll on Israel, Ukraine Desertion and Manpower Crisis...
Tuesday Mar 31, 2026
Tuesday Mar 31, 2026
This week, we read an article by inveterate shitlib, defender of liberal imperialism, and misunderstander of history, Jonathan Rauch. Rauch has changed his mind about Trump being a fascist, and we are here to tell him he shouldn't have...
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/01/america-fascism-trump-maga-ice/685751/
Wednesday Mar 25, 2026
Wednesday Mar 25, 2026
This week, the Regrettable Christian Caucus tackles Chapter III of Laudato Si' by the late Pope Francis. You can follow along by grabbing the PDF from Verso or from the Vatican website.
This Papal Encyclical calls for urgent action to address the global environmental crisis, critiques consumerism, blind developmentalism, inequality, and profit seeking. The document calls for global political solidarity to transition to a sustainable economy and for the protection of the world's most vulnerable populations.
Read Along Here:
Monday Mar 23, 2026
Monday Mar 23, 2026
The Stumbling Bumbling War Crimes Clown Show, US to Lift Sanctions on Iranian and Russian Oil, Global Energy Output Severely Reduced For Years, Plans For Forever War, Earthquake Faction, Ukraine Joins the Axis of Genocide, and Yes, They are Still Losing...
Thursday Mar 19, 2026
Thursday Mar 19, 2026
This week Chris and Jason read and discuss two articles about the rearrangement of the global order. Multipolarity is here; will it be better or worse for peace, stability, profits, or the project for human liberation?