Zero Squared

Chris McMillan is a Senior Lecturer in Sociology and Experiential Education at Arcadia University London. Chris moved to London from New Zealand in 2010. He is the author of The London Dream which is out next month from Zero Books. If you enjoy Zero Squared support us on Patreon. Patrons get access to more podcasts, usually two a week, and help to make sure that we can continue making digital content from a left perspective.

On Monday, July 20th, we lost Michael Brooks. At the age of 36 Michael was struck down by a blood clot in a sudden, unexpected, and premature death. We are still reeling from the loss. Brooks was cheated out of a life that was sure to only get better and we were robbed of his future work. This episode of Pop the Left was a tribute to Michael Brooks and an examination of the Cosmopolitan Socialism he advocated for in his book Against the Web. Support the Michael Brooks Foundation https://www.patreon.com/TMBS/

Our June 20th interview with Cedric Johnson, associate professor of African American studies and political science at the University of Illinois at Chicago and editor of The Neoliberal Deluge: Hurricane Katrina, Late Capitalism and the Remaking of New Orleans (University of Minnesota Press, 2011). In this podcast we discussed the prospects for an emancipatory politics emerging from the death of George Floyd and how to understand black politics alongside class politics.

In this episode of Pop the Left Douglas Lain and Derick Varn discuss Chris Cutrone's teach-in on Lukacs entitled "CPGB contra Lukacs." Cutrone's lecture was uploaded to the Platypus Affiliated Society's youtube page on Jan 14, 2014 and was a response to Mike McNair's Essay "Lukács: The philosophy trap" which was published in the Weekly Worker in November of 2013. The Teach-In from 2014 CPGB contra Lukacs teach-in by Chris Cutrone of Platypus https://youtu.be/FyAx32lzC0U Why still read Lukács? The place of “philosophical” questions in Marxism https://platypus1917.org/2014/02/01/why-still-read-lukacs-the-place-of-philosophical-questions-in-marxism Relevant Essays: Mike Macnair, "The philosophy trap" 11/21/13 https://weeklyworker.co.uk/worker/987/lukacs-the-philosophy-trap/ Chris Cutrone, "Defending Marxist Hegelianism against a Marxist critique" 8/11/11 https://weeklyworker.co.uk/worker/878/defending-marxist-hegelianism-against-a-marxist-cr/ Georg Lukacs, Original Preface (1922) to History and Class Consciousness (1923) https://www.marxists.org/archive/lukacs/works/history/preface-1922.htm

In this episode of Zero Squared Ankur Dnyanmote returns to discuss the idea of a paradigm shift to socialism. Along the way (towards the end) there is a clip from the classic film Network. Ankur's twitter bio lists him as a ScientArtist experimenting with #hashtags and other/worldly materials and media. He is also a professional biologist. If you enjoy Zero Squared support us on Patreon. Patrons get access to more podcasts, usually two a week, and help to make sure that we can continue making digital content from a left perspective.

Ben Burgis is back on the pod to talk about cancellations, radical reforms, and a transitional program. In this episode of the podcast we try to work out how to go from wokeness to a struggle for power. Can we reinvigorate the working class and working class struggles? The secibd of two new Patreon only podcast series will be released on the Fourth of July. Look forward to "Cinema and Communism" to premiere tomorrow. The first episode will cover the film A Serious Man and the first chapter of Gilles Dauve's "From Crisis to Communization."

Derick Varn and Douglas Lain discuss how the social democrats split off from the socialists and how the SPD became an enemy of the really existing socialism. Of special note is the economist Rudolf Hilferding whose explanation of monopoly capitalism presaged the turn Western Marxists would take after WWII. From Wikipedia: Rudolf Hilferding was an Austrian-born Marxist economist, leading socialist theorist, politician and chief theoretician for the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) during the Weimar Republic, almost universally recognized as the SPD's foremost theoretician of his century, and a physician

Mike Neary's book "Student as Producer" brings critical theory to life in a contribution to the dynamic, emerging genre of critical higher education studies. It asks whether students and teachers can change the world through critical pedagogy and popular education. Neary is Emeritus Professor of Sociology at the University of Lincoln. He is co-author of The Labour Debate: An Investigation into the Theory and Reality of Capitalist Work (2002) and co-author of The Future of Higher Education: Policy, Pedagogy and the Student Experience (2009). Neary's research centres on the future of universities and the role of higher education in creating a post-capitalist society. ANNOUNCEMENT: The first of two new Patreon only podcast series will be released on Saturday. Look forward to "Television and Theory" to premiere on the 27th. The first episode will cover episode #1 of Schitt's Creek and the first chapter of Rosa Luxemburg's "Reform or Revolution." The first episode of "Cinema and Communism" will premiere on July 4th and will cover the Cohen Brothers "A Serious Man" and the first chapter of Gilles Dauve's "From Crisis to Communization."

Ralph Leonard is a British-Nigerian who writes on international politics, religion, culture and humanism. He is a freelancer for publications such as Aero magazine and Medium. In this podcast we discussed CLR James and, in particular, his 1948 speech The revolutionary answer to the Negro problem in the United States. If you enjoy Zero Books support us on Patreon where you’ll get access to every episode of Pop the Left and Zero Squared.

In this episode of Pop the Left Derick Varn and Douglas Lain pluck out four historic events in order to try to understand what riots mean and where they can lead. The examine the riots of 1848, 1968, 1965, and 1992. That is, the Spring of Nations, the strikes of Mai '68, the Watts riots, and the LA Riots. What came of these moments in the past? What can we expect for our future?

The Manifesto Handbook describes the hidden life of an undervalued genre: the conduit for declarations of principle, advertisements for new “isms,” and provocations in pamphlet form. Often physically slight and small in scale, the manifesto is always grand in style and ambition. A bold, charismatic genre, it has founded some of the most important and revolutionary movements in modern history, from the declaration of wars and the birth of nations to the launch of countless social, political and artistic movements worldwide. Julian Hanna provides a brief genealogy of the genre, analyses its complex speaking position, traces the material process of manifesto making from production to dissemination, unpacks its extremist underbelly, and follows the twenty-first century resurgence of the manifesto as a re-politicised and reinvigorated digital form.

In this episode Derick Varn and Douglas Lain discuss the idea of the Dictatorship of the Proletariat in the works of Marx, Lenin and beyond. Why did Marx call it a dictatorship? Why should the proletariat? Why would this dictatorship "wither away"? How did really existing socialist movements understand the idea of the dictatorship of the proletariat and does the idea have any meaning for the left today?

Ashley Frawley hosts the podcast and discusses Marxism and Fascism with Taimur Rahman. Taimur Rahman is a Pakistani academic, musician and socialist political activist from Pakistan. He teaches political science at the Lahore University of Management Sciences. He is the band leader and spokesperson for the political music band named Laal. Rahman uses Laal to advance causes which he holds dear, such as socialism, the plight of labour and the suffering Pakistanis/Kashmiris have endured at the hands of religious fundamentalism and authoritarian rule in India.

Since the failure of the Bernie Sanders campaign and the onset of the covid-19 lockdown Matt Christman, of Chapo Traphouse fame, has developed a solo career as an internet live streamer. His daily rants include day drinking, divine logorrhea, and some keen insights as well. In this Zero Books live stream Matt Chapman will be dropping by the channel to discuss what he's learned and is learning.

Derick Varn and Douglas Lain tackle the question of political parties. Just what are political parties, why do they exist and would they exist under socialism? Is there a structural difference between a revolutionary party and bourgeois party? What is a party for and will the party ever stop?