Zero Squared

Michael Albert is an organizer, publisher, teacher, and author of over twenty books and hundreds of articles. He cofounded South End Press, Z Magazine, the Z Media Institute, ZNet, and various other projects, and works full time for Z Communications. He is the author, with Robin Hahnel, of the economic vision named participatory economics. He helped create the International Organization for a Participatory Society in 2012. He is also the podcaster behind Revolution Z and an instructor at the School for Social and Cultural Change.

Derick Varn and Douglas Lain are the hosts of Pop the Left, a video podcast presented on this channel every other Thursday. This week we say goodbye to 2020 and consider the year of COVID in the context of both capitalist crises and the rise and fall of socialist movements.

The former president of the Platypus Affiliated Society returns to the channel/podcast in order to defend the memory of Theodor Adorno after viewing our video "Class Consciousness vs. the Fiction of 'Class First' Politics."

Douglas Lain and Derick Varn discuss the early days of the Frankfurt School, the relationship between Critical Theory and Marxism, and discuss just how much credit or blame thinkers like Horkheimer and Adorno really deserve.

Steve Paxton both studied with GA Cohen at Oxford before and works blue-collar, white-collar and no-collar jobs. His book, Unlearning Marx considers Marx without Marxism.

The cultural critic Christopher Lasch praised Harold Cruse and his book The Crisis of the Negro Intellectual. Specifically, Lasch looked to Cruse as Lasch explored the need for the development of a working-class culture after WW2. In this video Derick Varn and Douglas Lain explore the limits of Cruse's conception of national identity even as they consider the reasons why Cruse felt compelled to seek out a black national culture in the United States.

Alex Hochuli is a co-host at the Aufhebunga Bunga podcast, a writer for magazines such as Damage and Jacobin, and a co-author of the upcoming Zero Books book "The End of the End of History." From the book jacket: The End of the End of History examines how the political consequences of the 2008 financial crisis have come home to roost. If Trump and Brexit shattered the liberal-democratic consensus in 2016, then the global pandemic of 2020 put a final end to the “End of History”. Politics is back, but it’s stranger than ever.

This Pop the Left podcast features Derick Varn, and Douglas Lain as they continue their conversation about the writings of Christopher Lasch and specifically examine his essay "Is Revolution Obsolete?" from his book A World of Nations. The ideas of Harold Cruse will also be examined as we try to wrangle out just what contemporary socialists can gain from understanding the legacy of Lasch.

Camilo Gómez is the man behind the History and Politics podcast. Living in Peru, he agreed to talk to Douglas Lain in order to give Zero Books readers and listeners information about the recent coup there, and in order to explain the scope and meaning of the mass protests that have swept through the country.

Rick Kuhn is a Marxian economist, political analyst and reader at the Australian National University in Canberra. He is a translator and editor of the works of Henryk Grossman and a radical in his own right. In this Zero Books interview, he discusses the pessimism of David Harvey and the possibilities for revolutionary socialism.

Stephen Janicki is an inventor living in Indiana and a Trump supporter. His most recent invention is called the Driigunproject project. The Facebook page for the Driigunproject describes this invention as a "revolution in art, gaming and education." He holds an Associates's degree in marketing with a minor in philosophy. In this video, Douglas Lain and Stephen Janicki discuss the election results, the possibility of voter fraud, the evidence of corruption around Biden and Trump, and whether we can trust our political institutions to render judgment.

Derick Varn and Douglas Lain preempt the scheduled interview with Rick Kuhn in order to offer choice hot takes on the US Presidential election as the votes are slowly counted. Questions raised will include, why is Trump so successful in the current climate, how are elite media institutions failing, and what will life under Biden be like for the left. If you enjoy the conversation join us in the Parrot room as we take the gloves off and dish dirt on the contemporary scene. Possible topics for Patrons will include the wit and wisdom of Nathan J. Robinson, why Zero Books can get on Sky News, and the pitfalls of pursuing politics in an apolitical age. https://patreon.com/zerobooks

Derick Varn and Douglas Lain discuss Christopher Lasch's 1969 book "The Agony of the Left." As we prepare for the possibility that the faux "populism" and attendant resistance that defined the Trump years are both on the verge of being relegated to the dustbin of history, we aim to take a step back and consider the left.To listen to the Parrot Room conversation join us on Patreon. https://pateron.com/zerobooks

Nina Power is a cultural critic, social theorist, philosopher and translator. She is the author of One-Dimensional Woman, a book that was published by Zero Books in 2009. Her Twitter bio claims she is uncancellable which is an indication that a few people have made an effort in that direction. In this Livestream for Zero Books, we'll be discussing her philosophical and political observations on the subject of depression, whether paganism can ever be countenanced, and what it means when men are sad.Nina's appearance in the Parrot Room is available for Patrons. https://www.patreon.com/zerobooks

October 18th, 2020In this episode of Pop the Left Derick Varn and Douglas Lain consider whether a new Marxist party would need to include a clear plan for transforming the means of production along with a plan to obtain state power.Recommended reading on Marx and Utopia: Marx's Critique of the Utopian Socialists by ROGER PADEN https://www.jstor.org/stable/20718467?seq=1 The Development of Utopian Socialism by Frederick Engels https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1880/soc-utop/ch01.htm

William Briggs, author of "Removing the Stalin Stain" returns to the channel to discuss Marx's vision of socialism, what Trotsky contributed to the socialist struggle, and the condition of socialist movements today.To get access to the Zero Books Parrot room support us on Patreon:https://patreon.com/zerobooks

Douglas Lain and Derick Varn discuss the US presidential election, the degraded state of US politics, and what both mean for a left that may be as degraded as the rest of society. In this episode of Pop the Left we'll go beyond the question of whether US socialists should support Biden in this election and try to understand what this moment means and where we're headed.

Ben Burgis and Douglas Lain start out descussing his upcoming book "Cancelling Comedians While the World Burns" but the conversation turns to memories of their respective writing careers, the cancel culture of the science fiction genre world during the zero years, and the question of the overproduction of elites. If you enjoy this conversation support us on Patreon and get access to the Zero Books "parrot room" wherein Zero Books authors and other regulars debate, discuss and talk shit.

Derick Varn and Douglas Lain continue a discussion on the topic of Marx's feelings about utopianism and blueprints in this episode of Pop the Left. Can we develop a working-class project for socialism without having a good idea of what socialism will work and what will replace capitalist production? Did Marx think we could?

This conversation between Vandana Shiva and Fabian Scheidler is hosted by Nermeen Shaikh a weekly co-host at Democracy Now! As per Wikipedia, Vandana Shiva is an Indian scholar, environmental activist, food sovereignty advocate, and anti-globalization author. Fabian Scheidler co-founded the independent newscast Kontext TV and is the author of "The End of the Megamachine" which is coming out in English from Zero Books in September of 2020.