Zero Squared

Mike Watson is an art theorist, critic and curator, who holds a PhD in Philosophy from Goldsmiths College. Watson curated at the 55th and 56th Venice Biennale, as well as at Manifesta12 in Palermo. He has written regularly for Art Review, Artforum, Frieze, and Radical Philosophy. In this special edition of the Zero Books podcast he discuss the state left politics with Danny Scott aka Badman Massive.

This week's podcast features an interview with Fabian Scheidler on the ideas in his upcoming book "The End of the Megamachine." The entirety of this interview is available as an audio "Zero Squared" podcast. The book provides a uniquely comprehensive picture of the roots of the destructive forces that are threatening the future of humankind today. Spanning 5000 years of history, the book shows how the three tyrannies of militarized states, capital accumulation and ideological power have been steering both ecosystems and societies to the brink of collapse. With the growing instability of the Megamachine in the 21st century, new dangers open up as well as new possibilities for systemic change, to which everyone can contribute.

Prof. Klees draws on 45 years of work around the world as an economist and international educator to paint a detailed picture of conservative, liberal, and progressive views on a wide range of current social issues. He takes an in-depth look at his specializations: education, economics, poverty and inequality, international development, and capitalism. He examines major social problems like health care, the climate crisis, and war. Throughout the book, Prof. Klees tries to give a fair and careful depiction of how conservatives and liberals see these issues, whilst focusing on critiques by progressives, and on the alternatives they offer.

Ralph Leonard is a British-Nigerian writer on international politics, religion, culture and humanism. He is a returning guest to the podcast and will be turning in a book for Zero Books in October.If you enjoy the Zero Books podcasts including Zero Squared and Pop the Left support us on Patreon. Patreon supporters get access to all of our podcasts and livestreams, and this week our patrons will get access to a video version of this podcast. It is our Patreon support that funds our digital content.

Dr. Djene Rhys Bajalan is a historian of the Middle East specializing the rise of nationalism and the evolution of the Kurdish question. He has written for publications such as Turkeyscope, Jacobin, and OpenDemocracy and in this episode of Zero Squared we discuss the Kurdish question and the right to national self determination.If you enjoy the Zero Books podcasts including Zero Squared and Pop the Left support us on Patreon. Patreon supporters get access to all of our podcasts and livestreams, and this week our patrons will get access to a video version of this podcast. It is our Patreon support that funds our digital content.

Monika Maria Kostera is a Polish economist, professor of management and organization theorist. He book "After the Apocalypse: Finding hope in organizing" is due out from Zero Books in September.If you enjoy the Zero Books podcasts including Zero Squared and Pop the Left support us on Patreon. Patreon supporters get access to more podcasts and livestreams than are made available on the public feed or on youtube, and it is our Patreon support that funds our digital content.

Chris Cutrone is a college educator, writer, and media artist, committed to critical thinking and artistic practice and the politics of social emancipation. He returns to the Zero Books channel to discuss his 2014 essay "Defending Marxist Hegelianism against a Marxist critique” and to discuss the role that critical theory should play in the struggle for socialism.

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 Foundationhttps://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 2014CPGB contra Lukacs teach-in by Chris Cutrone of Platypushttps://youtu.be/FyAx32lzC0UWhy still read Lukács? The place of “philosophical” questions in Marxismhttps://platypus1917.org/2014/02/01/why-still-read-lukacs-the-place-of-philosophical-questions-in-marxismRelevant Essays:Mike Macnair, "The philosophy trap" 11/21/13https://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)h

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

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.