“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.
Check us out on Patreon for regular Patron Book Clubs, Regrettable Geopolitics updates, Real Nerd Hours, and more...
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Episodes
Monday Oct 13, 2025
Monday Oct 13, 2025
Samantha Powers' UN/Israel Collusion, Anduril/Palantir Intel Risks to US Military, Right Wing Imperialist Proxy Wins Nobel Prize, Cease Fire in Gaza?, Angela Merkel Shifts Blame Onto Poland and Baltics, Poland's Imperial Ambitions, Zelensky's Wunderwaffen Scams, Ukraine's Energy Industry Crippled...
Thursday Oct 09, 2025
Thursday Oct 09, 2025
It's time for a new patron reading group, and we've chosen 'Disaster Nationalism' by Richard Seymour. The gang gets started with the introduction, which means there is still time to become part of the group. If so, go to the Discord to join in.
From the publisher:
Liberal civilisation is in crisis - now is a time of monsters.
While the spotlight often shines on the actions of charismatic right-wing leaders such as Donald Trump and Jair Bolsonaro, defeating these people will not stem the tide behind them. They are the embodiment of profound forces that are rarely understood. With meticulous analysis and compelling storytelling, Richard Seymour delves into the ideologies fueling the contemporary right and distorting modern politics into something abhorrent and nihilistic. The battle against disaster nationalism is not just political; it is a struggle for our collective soul and the future of civilization.
Wednesday Oct 01, 2025
Wednesday Oct 01, 2025
This week the boys finish a close reading of an interview with Terence Renaud wherein he discusses his new book New Lefts: The Making of a Radical Tradition.
We weigh in on the positive and negative legacies of the multiple revisions to "leftism."
https://www.thenation.com/article/culture/qa-terence-renaud-new-left/
Listen to Part I:
https://regrettablecentury.buzzsprout.com/220523/episodes/17815226-a-cascading-series-of-new-lefts-part-i-of-ii
Thursday Sep 25, 2025
Thursday Sep 25, 2025
This week, we read and discussed an article about a phenomenon that apparently some people are, or were, concerned about: the problem of fascist infiltration of the anti-war movement. We discuss the problems inherent in gatekeeping social movements and the lack of left-wing organizations of any size. We also chime in on the overblown concerns about "Red-Brownism."
Monday Sep 22, 2025
Monday Sep 22, 2025
The US is Behind On Drone Warfare, Satano-Nazi Terror in the USA, The Global Turn Against the Genocidal Apartheid State, The AFD's Gains in Former SPD Bastion, Reform UK is Britain's Most Popular Party, The Neo-Nazi Who Knew Too Much, Zelensky Is Losing Touch With Reality, Ukraine's Slow Collapse Continues...
Tuesday Sep 16, 2025
Tuesday Sep 16, 2025
Instances of stochastic violence in the United States are at an all-time high and the political violence of our era mirrors the political topography, disaggregated and rudderless. The boys got together this week to talk about Charlie Kirk and the newer/dumber "Years of Lead."
A Stark Look at the Recent History of Political Violence in America https://time.com/6998406/political-violence-united-states-recent-history/
Our Own Worst Enemies https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/political-violence-our-own-worst-enemies-robert-pape
A Brutal Decade: Dissecting the Causes of Violence in the 1970s https://brilliantio.com/why-were-the-1970s-so-violent/
‘Days of Rage’ and the Forgotten Radicalism of the 70s https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/days-of-rage-and-the-forgotten-radicalism-of-the-70s/
Sunday Sep 14, 2025
Sunday Sep 14, 2025
Newer Dumber Years of Lead, Newer Dumber Cold War Heats Up, Israel Kills Kids in Doha This Time, Europe Can't be Inconvenienced by Sanctions on India and China, Poland Shoots Down Three Slow Moving Unarmed Decoy Drones...
Tuesday Sep 09, 2025
Tuesday Sep 09, 2025
This week the boys do a close reading of an interview with Terence Renaud wherein he discusses his new book New Lefts: The Making of a Radical Tradition.
We weigh in on the positive and negative legacies of the multiple revisions to "leftism."
https://www.thenation.com/article/culture/qa-terence-renaud-new-left/
Thursday Sep 04, 2025
Thursday Sep 04, 2025
Today we read the second half of an article titled Do We Need an Updated Theory of Fascism? Theorizing the nature and implications of the global far-right resurgence by Prof. Dr. Alex Demirović, which was published by the Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung.
We liked this article for a few reasons, not the least of which was that it sparked good discussion...
Do We Need an Updated Theory of Fascism? by Alex Demirović
Tuesday Aug 26, 2025
Tuesday Aug 26, 2025
We sat down with our patrons to read and discuss the 1973 Hal Draper Pamphlet, Anatomy of the Microsect. https://www.marxists.org/archive/draper/1973/xx/microsect.htm