From Alpha To Omega

This week I am delighted to welcome Doug Lain back to show, for a discussion about cultural marxism, an argument about worker controlled workplaces, and some thoughts on what we can learn from the Inca’s. Doug is the host of the Zero Squared podcast, previously the Diet Soap Podcast, and is the publisher of Zero Books. He is also a sci-fi author, and has been nominated this year for the Phillip K. Dick Award for his latest novel, After the Saucers Landed. You can buy his book here: http://skyhorsepublishing.com/titles/641-9781597808231-after-the-saucers-landed You can find out everything Doug related here: http://douglaslain.com/ And all about Zero Books here: http://www.zero-books.net/ The music on this episode was: 'All You Need Is Hate', by The Delgados 'Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get' by The Dramatics 'All About Us' by Teen

After an unplanned hiatus, the show is back with a bang. This week I am delighted to welcome Nick Srnicek to the show. Nick, and his co-author Alex Williams, has recently released a new book with Verso called: “Inventing the Future: Postcapitalism and a World Without Work’. I bought this book as a christmas present for myself, and it didn’t disappoint - it’s just the book I have been waiting for someone to write! Indeed, I’m kinda annoyed with Nick and Alex, because it’s the book I really wanted to write! In the interview we cover the first half of the book, which takes a critical look at the functioning of the political left today, and a deep look at the history, strategy and tactics of the neoliberals as a counterpoint. I hope to have Alex back on the show in the near future to discuss the second half of the book, which is much less critique and more ‘what is to be done’. Us leftie’s need to get beyond critique, and that includes this show. You can find Nick and Alex’s book here: http://www.versobooks.com/books/1989-inventing-the-future You can also find their blog here: https://syntheticedifice.wordpress.com/ The music on this episode was: ‘The Order of the Pharaonic Jesters’ by Sun Ra and his Arkestra ‘USA iii: rail’ by Dan Deacon ‘Crying In The Chapel’ by Charles Bradley ‘Now Is The Time Of Emotion’ by Prince Rama

After an unplanned hiatus, the show is back with a bang. This week I am delighted to welcome Nick Srnicek to the show. Nick, and his co-author Alex Williams, has recently released a new book with Verso called: “Inventing the Future: Postcapitalism and a World Without Work’. I bought this book as a christmas present for myself, and it didn’t disappoint - it’s just the book I have been waiting for someone to write! Indeed, I’m kinda annoyed with Nick and Alex, because it’s the book I really wanted to write! In the interview we cover the first half of the book, which takes a critical look at the functioning of the political left today, and a deep look at the history, strategy and tactics of the neoliberals as a counterpoint. I hope to have Alex back on the show in the near future to discuss the second half of the book, which is much less critique and more ‘what is to be done’. Us leftie’s need to get beyond critique, and that includes this show. You can find Nick and Alex’s book here: http://www.versobooks.com/books/1989-inventing-the-future You can also find their blog here: https://syntheticedifice.wordpress.com/ The music on this episode was: ‘The Order of the Pharaonic Jesters’ by Sun Ra and his Arkestra ‘USA iii: rail’ by Dan Deacon ‘Crying In The Chapel’ by Charles Bradley ‘Now Is The Time Of Emotion’ by Prince Rama

This week I am delighted to welcome back to the show Marxist blogger extraordinaire, Michael Roberts. Michael’s blog, ‘The Next Recession’ is one of the best Marxist economics blogs out there, and he also runs a very active facebook group too. We talk about a recent series of articles Michael wrote called: ‘Robots and AI: Utopia or Dystopia, which was prompted by Paul Mason’s recent book Post-Capitalism. You can find the articles and facebook group here: https://thenextrecession.wordpress.com/2015/08/23/robots-and-ai-utopia-or-dystopia-part-one/ https://thenextrecession.wordpress.com/2015/08/29/robots-and-ai-utopia-or-dystopia-part-two/ https://thenextrecession.wordpress.com/2015/09/24/robots-and-ai-utopia-or-dystopia-part-three/ https://www.facebook.com/Michael-Roberts-blog-925340197491022/ The music on this episode was: ‘The Order of the Pharaonic Jesters’ by Sun Ra and his Arkestra 'Planet Junior' by The Babe Rainbow

This week I am delighted to welcome back to the show Marxist blogger extraordinaire, Michael Roberts. Michael’s blog, ‘The Next Recession’ is one of the best Marxist economics blogs out there, and he also runs a very active facebook group too. We talk about a recent series of articles Michael wrote called: ‘Robots and AI: Utopia or Dystopia, which was prompted by Paul Mason’s recent book Post-Capitalism. You can find the articles and facebook group here: https://thenextrecession.wordpress.com/2015/08/23/robots-and-ai-utopia-or-dystopia-part-one/ https://thenextrecession.wordpress.com/2015/08/29/robots-and-ai-utopia-or-dystopia-part-two/ https://thenextrecession.wordpress.com/2015/09/24/robots-and-ai-utopia-or-dystopia-part-three/ https://www.facebook.com/Michael-Roberts-blog-925340197491022/ The music on this episode was: ‘The Order of the Pharaonic Jesters’ by Sun Ra and his Arkestra 'Planet Junior' by The Babe Rainbow

This week I am delighted to welcome Prof. Bill Mitchell, Professor in Economics and Director of the Centre of Full Employment and Equity (CofFEE), at the University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia. Bill is also the author of the Billy Blog - one of the best places to learn about MMT on the web. He must be the most prolific economics blogger in the world today, and that’s no lie. We met up in London yesterday, to talk about Bill’s new book Eurozone Dystopia, available from the publishers Edward Elgar. We discussed why Greece should bring back the drachma, the failed negotiating position of Syriza, the chances of reforming the eurozone, and why Italy is the canary in the mine. Unfortunately the batteries for the microphone died 5 minutes before the end, so we missed some of the juicy stuff…… apologies. You can find the Professors blog here: http://bilbo.economicoutlook.net/blog/ You can buy the Professors new book here: http://www.e-elgar.com/shop/eurozone-dystopia Enjoy! The music on this weeks show was: 'The Order of the Pharaonic Jesters' by Sun Ra and his Arkestra 'I’m Leaving Now' by Johnny Cash and Merle Haggard 'Grass Roots' by Tommy McCook

This week I am delighted to welcome Prof. Bill Mitchell, Professor in Economics and Director of the Centre of Full Employment and Equity (CofFEE), at the University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia. Bill is also the author of the Billy Blog - one of the best places to learn about MMT on the web. He must be the most prolific economics blogger in the world today, and that’s no lie. We met up in London yesterday, to talk about Bill’s new book Eurozone Dystopia, available from the publishers Edward Elgar. We discussed why Greece should bring back the drachma, the failed negotiating position of Syriza, the chances of reforming the eurozone, and why Italy is the canary in the mine. Unfortunately the batteries for the microphone died 5 minutes before the end, so we missed some of the juicy stuff…… apologies. You can find the Professors blog here: http://bilbo.economicoutlook.net/blog/ You can buy the Professors new book here: http://www.e-elgar.com/shop/eurozone-dystopia Enjoy! The music on this weeks show was: 'The Order of the Pharaonic Jesters' by Sun Ra and his Arkestra 'I’m Leaving Now' by Johnny Cash and Merle Haggard 'Grass Roots' by Tommy McCook

After a long delay, this week I am delighted to welcome another Irishman to the show, Chekov Feeney. Chekov is the man behind the blog chekov.org, where he reflects and theorizes on his 20 year journey through leftist politics, science and the media. Chekov also works as a Senior Research Fellow in the Computer Science department in Trinity College Dublin. We talk about the good and the bad of radical left wing organisations, the empirical evidence for the liberal and Marxist world views, the need for new theoretical work on the left, and the dramatic political events unfolding in Greece. We join the conversation as Chekov is discussing his recent work in the field of computational history. You can find his blog here: http://www.chekov.org Enjoy! The music on this show was: ‘The Order of the Pharaonic Jesters’ by Sun Ra and his Arkestra 'One More Robot' by The Flaming Lips 'Mary, Don't You Weep' by Aretha Franklin ‘The River’ by King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard

After a long delay, this week I am delighted to welcome another Irishman to the show, Chekov Feeney. Chekov is the man behind the blog chekov.org, where he reflects and theorizes on his 20 year journey through leftist politics, science and the media. Chekov also works as a Senior Research Fellow in the Computer Science department in Trinity College Dublin. We talk about the good and the bad of radical left wing organisations, the empirical evidence for the liberal and Marxist world views, the need for new theoretical work on the left, and the dramatic political events unfolding in Greece. We join the conversation as Chekov is discussing his recent work in the field of computational history. You can find his blog here: http://www.chekov.org Enjoy! The music on this show was: ‘The Order of the Pharaonic Jesters’ by Sun Ra and his Arkestra 'One More Robot' by The Flaming Lips 'Mary, Don't You Weep' by Aretha Franklin ‘The River’ by King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard

This week I am delighted to welcome back to the show Michael Roberts, author of the ‘Next Recession’ blog. We talk about the new reports out on the world economy from the IMF and the Bank of International Settlements, and how Ben Bernanke has come out as a closet Marxist after all these years. We also discuss the recent debate between David Harvey on one side, and Michael and Andrew Kliman on the other, about the relevance / reality of the law of the tendential fall in the rate of profit, and the politics behind it all. You can find Michael's most prolific Blog here: https://thenextrecession.wordpress.com/ The music on this show was: ‘The Order of the Pharaonic Jesters’ by Sun Ra and his Arkestra ‘Missing You’ by John Waite ‘The Drug Song’ by Amateur Transplants ‘Green Onions’ by Booker T and the M G's

This week I am delighted to welcome back to the show Michael Roberts, author of the ‘Next Recession’ blog. We talk about the new reports out on the world economy from the IMF and the Bank of International Settlements, and how Ben Bernanke has come out as a closet Marxist after all these years. We also discuss the recent debate between David Harvey on one side, and Michael and Andrew Kliman on the other, about the relevance / reality of the law of the tendential fall in the rate of profit, and the politics behind it all. You can find Michael's most prolific Blog here: https://thenextrecession.wordpress.com/ The music on this show was: ‘The Order of the Pharaonic Jesters’ by Sun Ra and his Arkestra ‘Missing You’ by John Waite ‘The Drug Song’ by Amateur Transplants ‘Green Onions’ by Booker T and the M G's

After repeated requests from a number of listeners, this week I am delighted to welcome back to the show Dr Paul Cockshott, a reader in the computer science department of Glasgow University. We talk of the Socialist Calculation debate, the Soviet plans for their own internet, Google vs a planned economy, and the problems with Council Communism. If you'd like to listen to the show on your phone, you can now also listen with TuneIn here: http://tunein.com/radio/From-Alpha-To-Omega-p686756/

After repeated requests from a number of listeners, this week I am delighted to welcome back to the show Dr Paul Cockshott, a reader in the computer science department of Glasgow University. We talk of the Socialist Calculation debate, the Soviet plans for their own internet, Google vs a planned economy, and the problems with Council Communism. If you'd like to listen to the show on your phone, you can now also listen with TuneIn here: http://tunein.com/radio/From-Alpha-To-Omega-p686756/

This week I am delighted to welcome back to the show Doug Lain, host of what was once called the Diet Soap podcast, but which is now the Zero Squared podcast. We talk about why Doug’s new job as publisher of Zero Books doesn't make him a capitalist, what econophysics has to do with Marx, capitalism as objective reality, base vs superstructure, radical politics and the current balance of forces, how Woody Allen has lost his way, the latest book Doug’s working on, and how cool and communist Star Trek is. You can find the shows new Stitcher presence here: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/from-alpha-to-omega You can find the Zero Squared podcast and all of Doug's other stuff here: DouglasLain.com Here is Zero Books: http://www.zero-books.net/ The music on this show was: ‘The Order of the Pharaonic Jesters’ by Sun Ra and his Arkestra ‘Maple Leaf Rag’ by Scott Joplin ‘Si tu vois ma mère’ by Sidney Bechet ‘For The Love Of Money’ by O’Jays ‘Ain't Misbehavin’ by Django Reinhardt

This week I am delighted to welcome back to the show Doug Lain, host of what was once called the Diet Soap podcast, but which is now the Zero Squared podcast. We talk about why Doug’s new job as publisher of Zero Books doesn't make him a capitalist, what econophysics has to do with Marx, capitalism as objective reality, base vs superstructure, radical politics and the current balance of forces, how Woody Allen has lost his way, the latest book Doug’s working on, and how cool and communist Star Trek is. You can find the shows new Stitcher presence here: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/from-alpha-to-omega You can find the Zero Squared podcast and all of Doug's other stuff here: DouglasLain.com Here is Zero Books: http://www.zero-books.net/ The music on this show was: ‘The Order of the Pharaonic Jesters’ by Sun Ra and his Arkestra ‘Maple Leaf Rag’ by Scott Joplin ‘Si tu vois ma mère’ by Sidney Bechet ‘For The Love Of Money’ by O’Jays ‘Ain't Misbehavin’ by Django Reinhardt