Zero Squared

Nicholas "Nick" Currie (born 11 February 1960), more popularly known under the artist name Momus (after the Greek god of mockery), is a Scottish songwriter, author, blogger, and former journalist for Wired.

Sean Sayers is an Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at the University of Kent. He has written extensively on Hegelian and Marxist philosophy from a Hegelian Marxist perspective.  In April of 2020, he appeared on the Zero Books channel in order to discuss his criticism of GA Cohen, an analytic philosopher, and Marxist. Since then Steve Paxton, who is the author of Unlearning Marx (a book that came out in January of 2021 from Zero Books), has made it known through Twitter that he believes Sayer’s criticisms of Cohen has some flaws. 

Jake Flores from Pod Damn America joins Doug Lain to set him straight after he was ratioed on Twitter. They discuss what up and coming comedians REALLY think about "cancel culture," Dave Chappelle's controversial comedy special "The Closer" and how the Generation X cohort is becoming synonymous with Boomers.

Lavit Maas is a social worker working as a mental health responder on Skid Row in Los Angeles. In this video interview she explains the difficulties she faces as she works to get the most destitute and vulnerable people care and explores how homelessness and servicing homelessness are mutually supporting under capitalism. 

Mike Watson joins Douglas Lain to discuss his critique of capitalism, memes, mental illness and the counterculture. He urges the online left to use digital culture to build a real cultural and political movement.

 In this episode, Douglas Lain talks to Michael Albert about his book No Bosses. The book advocates for the conception and then organization of a new economy. The vision offered is called participatory economics. It elevates self-management, equity, solidarity, diversity, and sustainability. It eliminates elitist, arrogant, dismissive, authoritarian, exploitation, competition, and homogenization. 

Jared Bauer is the director and writer behind the youtube channel Wisecrack. He was known on youtube for producing and hosting Wisecrack's Philosophy videos. Jared is no longer with Wisecrack but has moved to Finland. In this episode he talks to Doug about Hollywood, Youtube, and cancel culture. If you enjoy this conversation check out Jared's new channel and his new interview about Cancel Culture with Ben Burgis.Jared Bauer Interviews Ben Burgishttps://youtu.be/lDRDi0mcmnoJared Bauer's Youtubehttps://www.youtube.com/c/JaredBauer

Daniel Bessner is a historian, non-resident fellow at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, a contributing editor at Jacobin, co-host of the podcast American Prestige, and the author of the upcoming book for Zero Books “Imperial Realism.” 

Chris Cutrone of the Platypus Affiliated Society discusses his essay Afghanistan: After 20 and 40 years with Douglas Lain. Put differently, the last Marxist weighs in on the invasion, occupation, and withdrawal from Afghanistan.Excerpt from essay:"AFGHANISTAN WAS INTENDED BY THE U.S. in the 1980s to be the Soviet Union’s Vietnam War. But it is the United States today that is experiencing a second Fall of Saigon in Kabul. If the Great Recession was the historic crisis of neoliberalism, then the U.S. loss of Afghanistan to the return of the Taliban marks the definitive crisis and terminus of neoconservatism. John Bolton ran screaming bloody murder when fired by Donald Trump for resisting ending the Afghanistan war, but it is Joe Biden who now rules over the U.S. withdrawal. This is not some end to U.S. global hegemony — no more than Vietnam was."Link to essayhttps://platypus1917.org/2021/09/02/afghanistan-after-20-and-40-years/

Daniel Melo is an attorney and social critic who grew up in diverse cultural and political settings. His new book Borderlines explores how power and profit are perpetuated by the divisions between migrant and citizen and the resulting dehumanization of both. 

Noam Chomsky joins Michael Albert to discuss his book No Bosses. Albert advocates for the conception and then organization of a new economy. The vision offered is called participatory economics. It elevates self-management, equity, solidarity, diversity, and sustainability. It eliminates elitist, arrogant, dismissive, authoritarian, exploitation, competition, and homogenization.

Susanna Kleeman is the woman behind the novel Twice which came out from Zero Books in June of 2021. In this video, she discusses how Capitalism is murdering the imagination even as she discusses her novel.MusicCrippled Inside Cover by Istohttps://youtu.be/8llnf1SVOIARelevant BookTwice by Susanna Kleemanhttps://www.susannakleeman.com/twice

In this week's Pop the Left, Kuba Wrzesniewski talks to Varn about the history of Poland and Communism, how the left was liquidated in Poland, and how Poland was pushed into the NATO orbit.   We talk about misconceptions about the progress and if the Soviets could have handled things differently.

Ben Burgis stops by to discuss his book "Cancelling Comedians While the World Burns," the Dirtbag Left, and how the radical left should get its mojo back.

Varn and P.H. Higgins discuss the First International and its controversies, particularly focusing on the Italian sections of the international and how Anarchist Internationals became more and more Marxist over time despite themselves.

Todd McGowan is committed to the idea that theoretical exploration of questions about existence, the psyche, and society can contribute to radical politics. He is the author of "Emancipation After Hegel: Achieving a Contradictory Revolution" and a cultural critic. In this podcast, he talks to Douglas Lain about Hegel and claims the old philosopher is perhaps more radical than Karl Marx.

Derick Varn talks to Dr. Djene Balajan about the history of the term of "deep state"--it's emergence from Turkish politics.  Its abuse in left- and right-wing circles. WE also discuss how to parse the deep state in terms of left-wing conspiracy thinking and how this may be a problem for leftist analysis.

Adam Proctor is the host of the "Dead Pundits Society" podcast. He took exception to the Critical Cuts video "Supporting Bernie Sanders Was a Mistake" and came on to the Zero Books podcast in order to give voice to his objections. 

This video interview explores how it is that the “End of History” is over. The idea that Western liberal democracy was the “final form of human government” has been exposed as bluster: the old order is crumbling before our eyes. Angry anti-politics have arisen to threaten political establishments across the world. Elites have fallen into hysteria, blaming voters, “populism”, Putin, Facebook… anyone but themselves. They are suffering from Neoliberal Order Breakdown Syndrome.

In this episode of Pop the Left Derick Varn and Douglas Lain discuss Paul Matticks critique of James Burnham's "The Machiavellians, Defenders of Freedom." We ask the question, "Why do right-wing theories of social class so frequently infect the left and Marxism?"