From Alpha To Omega

This week I am delighted to welcome to the show Jose A Tapia Granados, associate Professor in the Department of History and Politics in Drexel University. Originally trained as a medical doctor, Jose now specialises in the links between fluctuations in the economy and health conditions. He also is interested in purely economic issues, and is the co-author of the book ‘La Gran Recesión y el capitalismo del siglo XXI’ or ‘The Great Recession and capitalism of the XXI century’ in english. The interview is based upon a really fascinating paper of his I read recently called, ‘Does investment call the tune? Empirical evidence and endogenous theories of the business cycle’. In this paper, Jose looks at the different theories of crisis, in particular those of Keynes and Marx, and sees how they stand up when you test them against the historical empirical data. Very interesting stuff indeed. Here is the podcast's new YouTube channel, with all the episodes uploaded: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCD63zXEPxFpl9Y0Vh8abp4A You can find the paper here: http://sitemaker.umich.edu/tapia_granados/files/does_investment_call_the_tune_may_2012__forthcoming_rpe_.pdf You can find his book here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/GRAN-RECESION-CAPITALISMO-DEL-SIGLO/dp/8483196115 The music on this show was: ‘The Order of the Pharaonic Jesters’ by Sun Ra and his Arkestra ‘That's How It Works’ by The Retinas ‘Hurricane’ by Ms Mr ‘Forever And Ever’ by Demis Roussos

This week I am delighted to welcome to the show Jose A Tapia Granados, associate Professor in the Department of History and Politics in Drexel University. Originally trained as a medical doctor, Jose now specialises in the links between fluctuations in the economy and health conditions. He also is interested in purely economic issues, and is the co-author of the book ‘La Gran Recesión y el capitalismo del siglo XXI’ or ‘The Great Recession and capitalism of the XXI century’ in english. The interview is based upon a really fascinating paper of his I read recently called, ‘Does investment call the tune? Empirical evidence and endogenous theories of the business cycle’. In this paper, Jose looks at the different theories of crisis, in particular those of Keynes and Marx, and sees how they stand up when you test them against the historical empirical data. Very interesting stuff indeed. Here is the podcast's new YouTube channel, with all the episodes uploaded: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCD63zXEPxFpl9Y0Vh8abp4A You can find the paper here: http://sitemaker.umich.edu/tapia_granados/files/does_investment_call_the_tune_may_2012__forthcoming_rpe_.pdf You can find his book here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/GRAN-RECESION-CAPITALISMO-DEL-SIGLO/dp/8483196115 The music on this show was: ‘The Order of the Pharaonic Jesters’ by Sun Ra and his Arkestra ‘That's How It Works’ by The Retinas ‘Hurricane’ by Ms Mr ‘Forever And Ever’ by Demis Roussos

This week I am delighted to welcome Sean Michael Wilson to the show. Sean Michael Wilson is Scottish comic book writer, who now lives and works in Japan. In the last couple of years, Sean Michael has released a couple of explicitly political graphic novels: 'Parecomic: The Story of Michael Albert and Participatory Economics' 'Fight the Power! A Visual History of Protests Among the English Speaking Peoples' He has also recently wrote a post for the Forbidden Planet Blog on how an anarchy-based economic system would benefit the creation of comics, and all art in general. We discuss the creative process of the comic-book writer, the emergence of the adult comic-book genre, the Walking Dead and it’s Hobbesian view of the world, why Hollywood does not do anarchy, progressive politics in comics, socialism and the world of art, and the need for revolutionary jokes. You may also be interested in a promising new podcast that has just been launched by Amogh Sadu and C. Derrick Varn called ‘Symptomatic Redness’. It features a really good interview Amogh did with me earlier in the autumn, where I give my opinions on all things economic and political, and slander all my previous guests. Here is the link: http://sympthomaticredness.libsyn.com/prepisode-one-interview-with-tom-obrien Here is where you can get your hands on Sean Michael's Work: http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1?ie=UTF8&field-author=Sean+Michael+Wilson&search-alias=books-uk&text=Sean+Michael+Wilson&sort=relevancerank Here is Sean Michael's blog: http://radicalfun.weebly.com You can find Sean Michael's Forbidden Planet blog post here: http://www.forbiddenplanet.co.uk/blog/2014/comics-sean-michael-wilson-anarchic-approach/ The music on this show was: ‘The Order of the Pharaonic Jesters’ by Sun Ra and his Arkestra ‘Turning Japanese’ by the Vapors ‘wrapping the green flag around’ by The Dubliners ‘Such A Waste Of Mind’ by Faron Young ‘Bring Me Sunshine’ by Morecambe and Wise You can find the Sligo Anarchist here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yieS7jWWdB8

This week I am delighted to welcome Sean Michael Wilson to the show. Sean Michael Wilson is Scottish comic book writer, who now lives and works in Japan. In the last couple of years, Sean Michael has released a couple of explicitly political graphic novels: 'Parecomic: The Story of Michael Albert and Participatory Economics' 'Fight the Power! A Visual History of Protests Among the English Speaking Peoples' He has also recently wrote a post for the Forbidden Planet Blog on how an anarchy-based economic system would benefit the creation of comics, and all art in general. We discuss the creative process of the comic-book writer, the emergence of the adult comic-book genre, the Walking Dead and it’s Hobbesian view of the world, why Hollywood does not do anarchy, progressive politics in comics, socialism and the world of art, and the need for revolutionary jokes. You may also be interested in a promising new podcast that has just been launched by Amogh Sadu and C. Derrick Varn called ‘Symptomatic Redness’. It features a really good interview Amogh did with me earlier in the autumn, where I give my opinions on all things economic and political, and slander all my previous guests. Here is the link: http://sympthomaticredness.libsyn.com/prepisode-one-interview-with-tom-obrien Here is where you can get your hands on Sean Michael's Work: http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1?ie=UTF8&field-author=Sean+Michael+Wilson&search-alias=books-uk&text=Sean+Michael+Wilson&sort=relevancerank Here is Sean Michael's blog: http://radicalfun.weebly.com You can find Sean Michael's Forbidden Planet blog post here: http://www.forbiddenplanet.co.uk/blog/2014/comics-sean-michael-wilson-anarchic-approach/ The music on this show was: ‘The Order of the Pharaonic Jesters’ by Sun Ra and his Arkestra ‘Turning Japanese’ by the Vapors ‘wrapping the green flag around’ by The Dubliners ‘Such A Waste Of Mind’ by Faron Young ‘Bring Me Sunshine’ by Morecambe and Wise You can find the Sligo Anarchist here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yieS7jWWdB8

This week I am delighted to welcome Gavin Mendel-Gleason to the show. Gavin works as a Post-Doctoral researcher in the computer science department at Dublin City University. Gavin also writes for the very interesting blog: Spirit of Contradiction, which focuses on various different aspects of leftist or socialist politics and theory. Gavin recently wrote a really interesting article on some empirical and theoretical evidence from the world Econophysics that chimes with Marx’s two-class analysis of capitalism. These results are extremely interesting and serve as another illumination of the accuracy and power of Marx’s work. We also talk about Gavin's experiences working as an anarchist activist in Ireland, and his journey from that to more formal party politics. You can find his blog here: http://spiritofcontradiction.eu/ The music featured on this show was: ‘The Order of the Pharaonic Jesters’ by Sun Ra and his Arkestra ‘Working Man’ by Rush ‘Top Hat, White Tie and Tails’ by Fred Astaire 'Time Will Tell' by The Lafayette Afro Rock Band ‘Water No Get Enemy’ by Fela Kuti

This week I am delighted to welcome Gavin Mendel-Gleason to the show. Gavin works as a Post-Doctoral researcher in the computer science department at Dublin City University. Gavin also writes for the very interesting blog: Spirit of Contradiction, which focuses on various different aspects of leftist or socialist politics and theory. Gavin recently wrote a really interesting article on some empirical and theoretical evidence from the world Econophysics that chimes with Marx’s two-class analysis of capitalism. These results are extremely interesting and serve as another illumination of the accuracy and power of Marx’s work. We also talk about Gavin's experiences working as an anarchist activist in Ireland, and his journey from that to more formal party politics. You can find his blog here: http://spiritofcontradiction.eu/ The music featured on this show was: ‘The Order of the Pharaonic Jesters’ by Sun Ra and his Arkestra ‘Working Man’ by Rush ‘Top Hat, White Tie and Tails’ by Fred Astaire 'Time Will Tell' by The Lafayette Afro Rock Band ‘Water No Get Enemy’ by Fela Kuti

This week I am delighted to welcome Thom Workman to the show, Professor of Political Science at the University of New Brunswick. Thom’s research explores the philosophical and sociological critiques of modernity, especially as these have developed over the post-Enlightenment era. In this episode we discuss the history of the Philosophy of Science, Marx’s understanding of science at the time of writing 'Das Kapital', Postmodernism, and how this notion of science has come under attack over the years, from various quarters, both from outside and within Marxism itself. Thom has also published a number of books, his latest called: ‘If You’re in My Way, I’m Walking: The Assault on Working People since 1970’. http://fernwoodpublishing.ca/book/if-youre-in-my-way-im-walking.

This week I am delighted to welcome Thom Workman to the show, Professor of Political Science at the University of New Brunswick. Thom’s research explores the philosophical and sociological critiques of modernity, especially as these have developed over the post-Enlightenment era. In this episode we discuss the history of the Philosophy of Science, Marx’s understanding of science at the time of writing 'Das Kapital', Postmodernism, and how this notion of science has come under attack over the years, from various quarters, both from outside and within Marxism itself. Thom has also published a number of books, his latest called: ‘If You’re in My Way, I’m Walking: The Assault on Working People since 1970’. http://fernwoodpublishing.ca/book/if-youre-in-my-way-im-walking.

This week I am delighted to have Rick Rozoff, long-time anti-war activist, NATO expert, and curator of the - Stop Nato: Opposition to Global Militarism blog. In a wide ranging interview, we discuss the current Ukraine Situation, Zbigniew Brzezinski and the Grand Chessboard, the NATO expansion and encirclement of Russia, and the plight of Syria. You can check out his blog here: http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/ The music featured on this show were: 'The Order of the Pharaonic Jesters' by Sun Ra and his Arkestra 'Cut Em Off' by Dizzee Rascal 'Solitude' by Billie Holiday 'Isolation' by Joy Division 'Blueberry Hill' by Vladimir Putin

This week I am delighted to have Rick Rozoff, long-time anti-war activist, NATO expert, and curator of the - Stop Nato: Opposition to Global Militarism blog. In a wide ranging interview, we discuss the current Ukraine Situation, Zbigniew Brzezinski and the Grand Chessboard, the NATO expansion and encirclement of Russia, and the plight of Syria. You can check out his blog here: http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/ The music featured on this show were: 'The Order of the Pharaonic Jesters' by Sun Ra and his Arkestra 'Cut Em Off' by Dizzee Rascal 'Solitude' by Billie Holiday 'Isolation' by Joy Division 'Blueberry Hill' by Vladimir Putin

This week I am glad to welcome C. Derrick Varn back to the show. We discuss the council communism and the Ultra-left, a man who told Stalin where to go and survived, autonomous Marxism and the Occupy Movement, and the failure of revolutions. Enjoy! The music and voice used on this show are: ‘The Order of the Pharaonic Jesters’ by Sun Ra and his Arkestra Paul D'Amato discussing the life and work of Antonio Gramsci ‘The Charleston’ by Django Reinhart 'Working Class Hero' by John Lennon 'Destroy Everything' by Dr. Peacock & Repix 'Wild Colonial Boy' by Tommy Makem and The Clancy Brothers.

This week I am glad to welcome C. Derrick Varn back to the show. We discuss the council communism and the Ultra-left, a man who told Stalin where to go and survived, autonomous Marxism and the Occupy Movement, and the failure of revolutions. Enjoy! The music and voice used on this show are: ‘The Order of the Pharaonic Jesters’ by Sun Ra and his Arkestra Paul D'Amato discussing the life and work of Antonio Gramsci ‘The Charleston’ by Django Reinhart 'Working Class Hero' by John Lennon 'Destroy Everything' by Dr. Peacock & Repix 'Wild Colonial Boy' by Tommy Makem and The Clancy Brothers.

This week we have part two of our discussion with Professor Peter Hudis, of Oakton Community College, about his book 'Marx's Concept of the Alternative to Capitalism'. We talk about the Soviet experiment and the alienation of labour, the role of the state in a post-capitalist society, the Spanish revolution and the anarchist understanding of revolution, and the co-operative model as an alternative. You can get the Professors book here: http://www.haymarketbooks.org/pb/Marxs-Concept-of-the-Alternative-to-Capitalism

This week we have part two of our discussion with Professor Peter Hudis, of Oakton Community College, about his book 'Marx's Concept of the Alternative to Capitalism'. We talk about the Soviet experiment and the alienation of labour, the role of the state in a post-capitalist society, the Spanish revolution and the anarchist understanding of revolution, and the co-operative model as an alternative. You can get the Professors book here: http://www.haymarketbooks.org/pb/Marxs-Concept-of-the-Alternative-to-Capitalism

This week I am delighted to welcome Professor Peter Hudis, of Oakton Community College, who has recently published his new book: 'Marx's Concept of the Alternative to Capitalism'. We discuss what Marx had to say about post-capitalist societies, and the reluctance of those on the left to talk about what it might actually look like. We also talk of the theoretical reasons for the failure of the Soviet and Maoist projects, how abstract labour dominates our lives, and how not even the capitalists are in control of the current system. You can find the Professors book here: http://www.haymarketbooks.org/pb/Marxs-Concept-of-the-Alternative-to-Capitalism Enjoy!