PODCAST · arts
left; unread
by left; unread
Two leftists exploring the question, ”what is to be done?” as they navigate life in a late-stage capitalist hellscape.
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47
Episode 47 - "Critique of the Gotha Programme"
Will and Aaron return to the work of Dr. Karl Marx through "Critique of the Gotha Programme", discussing the role of critique, the distinction between pedantry and principle, and how Marx knows how to hold a grudge. All music by Sisyphus Happy.
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Episode 46 - The Communist Necessity
Will and Aaron read J. Moufawad-Paul's The Communist Necessity and discuss the vanguard of the 21st century, "the left talking to the left about the left", and the depressing reality of movementism. All music by Sisyphus Happy.
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Episode 45 - Soledad Brother
Will and Aaron return to the great George L. Jackson to read Soledad Brother, where they discuss self-determination, blindspots in leftist movements in history, and how MLK was a Gonzaloist. All music by Sisyphus Happy.
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Episode 44 - Democracy for the Few
Will and Aaron return to the great Michael Parenti's Democracy of the Few, discussing how democratic the US truly was at its founding, how everything good in the US came from struggle, and how Parenti is an old man at heart. All music by Sisyphus Happy.
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Episode 43 - Caliban and the Witch
Will and Aaron read Silvia Federici's Caliban and the Witch and discuss primitive accumulation, the body as the first machine of capital, and the poophole loophole. All music by Sisyphus Happy.
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42
Episode 42 - Stalin: History and Critique of a Black Legend, Part Two
Will and Aaron return to finish Domenico Losurdo's Stalin: History and Critique of a Black Legend, discussing terror famines, Pol Pot apologetics, and why you should condemn Churchill. All music by Sisyphus Happy.
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Episode 41 - Stalin: History and Critique of a Black Legend, Part One
Will and Aaron start Domenico Losurdo's Stalin: History and Critique of a Black Legend, reading through chapter 4 and discussing the state of exception, gulags, and how everything comes back to fucking Hegel. All music by Sisyphus Happy.
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Episode 40 - Anarcho-Syndicalism: Theory and Practice
Will and Aaron read Rudolf Rocker's Anarcho-Syndicalism: Theory and Practice and discuss Anarchist praxis, the CNT-FAI, and how the National Federation of Labor Cartels sounds quite familiar. All music by Sisyphus Happy.
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Episode 39 - Labour in Irish History
Will and Aaron explore James Connolly's Labour in Irish History, discussing the merits of trade unionism as an organizational tactic, the perennial national question, and the distinction between primary and secondary contradictions. All music by Sisyphus Happy.
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Episode 38 - Socialist Reconstruction
In this extra-long episode, Will and Aaron read PSL's Socialist Reconstruction and contend with collectivizing everything, the problems of skipping the revolution, and the People's Piss Bottle. All music by Sisyphus Happy.
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Episode 37 - Capital, Volume One: Chapters 23-25
Will and Aaron finish reading Dr. Karl Mark's seminal work Capital, Volume One and discuss original vs. primitive accumulation, the modern theory of colonization, and how we're honestly just happy to be done reading this dang book! All music by Sisyphus Happy.
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Episode 36 - "On Contradiction"
Will and Aaron read Mao's "On Contradiction" and discuss the correctness of action, the lib/left coalition, and why no one wants to be Trotsky. Music by Sisyphus Happy.
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Episode 35 - Capital, Volume One: Chapters 15-22
In the penultimate Capital episode, Will and Aaron continue reading Dr. Karl Marx's seminal work, Capital, Volume One, covering chapters 15-22 and discussing the magnitude of surplus value, piece wages vs. time wages, and why Marx hated Bentham so damn much.
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Episode 34 - Guerrilla Warfare
Patria o Muerte! In celebration of the anniversary of the Cuban Revolution, Will and Aaron read Che Guevara's Guerrilla Warfare, discussing the applicability of guerrilla warfare in the modern age, "the role of the woman" in revolutionary politics, and why tractor repair may just be the next wave of revolutionary organization. All music by Sisyphus Happy, with the exception of the closing song: "Para Nosotros Siempre Es 26" by Carlos Puebla.
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Episode 33: Capital, Volume One: Chapters 12-14
Will and Aaron continue the long journey of reading Dr. Karl Marx's Capital, discussing AI and mechanization, "luxury" goods and class antagonism, and how Door Dashers are the real heroes. Music by Sisyphus Happy.
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Episode 32 - "The Foundations of Leninism"
Will and Aaron return to Joseph Stalin through his essay "The Foundations of Leninism", discussing socialism in one country, bottom-up recall vs. top-down purges, and why Lenin was a boss husband. All music by Sisyphus Happy.
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Episode 31 - Capital, Volume One: Chapters 10-11
Will and Aaron read chapters 10 and 11 from Dr. Karl Marx's Capital, Volume One and discuss productivity, the distinction between historical and capitalist modes of cooperation, and why The Golden Bachelor is cool. Music by Sisyphus Happy.
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Episode 30 - Beyond Nature
Will and Aaron read Marco Maurizi's Beyond Nature and discuss animal liberation, veganism as an extension of Marxism, and why calling cops pigs is an insult to pigs everywhere. All music by Sisyphus Happpy.
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Episode 29 - Capital, Volume One: Chapters 7-9
Will and Aaron continue reading Dr. Karl Marx's seminal work, Capital, discussing surplus value, lunch breaks, and journeying into the vast abstract of Marx's mindscape. Happy (belated) May Day! All music by Sisyphus Happy.
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Episode 28 - An Anarchist Primer
Will and Aaron read 8 anarchist essays and discuss individualism, anarchist criticisms of Lenin's state model, and anarchism's ultimate person. The essays explored in this episode are: -Ecology and Revolutionary Thought - Murray Bookchin -An Anarchist Programme - Errico Malatesta -Are We Good Enough? - Peter Kropotkin -Our Revolution - Carlo Cafiero -The Capitalist System - Mikhail Bakunin -The Soviet System or the Dictatorship of the Proletariat? - Rudolf Rocker -The Principles of Anarchism - Lucy Parsons All music by Sisyphus Happy.
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Episode 27 - Capital, Volume One: Chapters 3-6
Will and Aaron continue their journey of reading Dr. Karl Marx's Capital, discussing chapters 3-6 to define exchange circuits, characterize valorization, and inadvertently intimate a repressed foot fetish. All music by Sisyphus Happy. Also, something a little different: next episode's reading list for our "Anarchist Primer" episode: Ecology and Revolutionary Thought - Murray Bookchin An Anarchist Programme - Errico Malatesta Are We Good Enough? - Peter Kropotkin Our Revolution - Carlo Cafiero The Capitalist System - Mikhail Bakunin The Soviet System or the Dictatorship of the Proletariat? - Rudolf Rocker The Principles of Anarchism - Lucy Parsons
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Episode 26 - Women, Race, and Class
Happy Women's History Month! Will and Aaron read Angela Davis' Women, Race, and Class and discuss the necessity for an intersectional liberation politic, the need for a new guard of radical revolutionaries, and how fathers can't be babysitters. All music by Sisyphus Happy. https://open.spotify.com/album/3uxO1udNj9uATyIoFzkOMk?si=1hRzaXpySqekHIozTJ7fQg
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Episode 25 - Capital, Volume One: Chapters 1-2
Will and Aaron begin the journey of reading Karl Marx's seminal work, Capital, discussing correctly defining commodity, use vs. exchange value, and Karl Marx's favorite fetish. All music by Sisyphus Happy.
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Episode 24 - Blood in My Eye
Will and Aaron read George L. Jackson's classic "Blood in My Eye" and discuss the role of violence in revolution, being something other than a professional revolutionary, and how the US is - and always has been - a fascist project. All music by Sisyphus Happy.
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Episode 23 - The Communist Manifesto
Will and Aaron read Marx (and Engels)'s The Communist Manifesto and discuss defining the movement for ourselves, organization, and how we say 'fucking' a lot - some may say too much. All music by Sisyphus Happy.
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Episode 22 - Black Skin, White Masks
Will and Aaron read Black Skin, White Masks by Frantz Fanon and discuss the colonization of language, the duality of self-determination, and Freud's obsession with genitals. All music by Sisyphus Happy.
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Episode 21 - Mutual Aid, A Factor of Evolution
Will and Aaron return to Peter Kropotkin to read Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution and discuss selfishness, means and ends not matching, and why balls exist. All music by Sisyphus Happy.
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Episode 20 - Capitalist Realism
Will and Aaron read Mark Fisher's Capitalist Realism: Is There No Alternative? and discuss the commodification of emancipation, philosopher kings vs. existential abandonment, and whether Donald Trump shids himself. All music by Sisyphus Happy.
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Episode 19 - The Society of the Spectacle
Will and Aaron read Guy Debord's The Society of the Spectacle and discuss commodity colonization, true and false consciousness, and how plants love Brawndo. All music by Sisyphus Happy.
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Episode 18 - "Dialectical and Historical Materialism"
Will and Aaron read Joseph Stalin's "Dialectical and Historical Materialism" and discuss "great men" of history, the role of handicraft, and how to make room for metaphysical thinking in a materialist world. All music by Sisyphus Happy.
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Episode 17 - "Left-Wing Communism: An Infantile Disorder"
Will and Aaron return to Lenin to read "Left-Wing Communism: An Infantile Disorder" just in time to discuss the merits of participating in bourgeois parliamentary elections. All music by Sisyphus Happy.
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Episode 16 - The Transitional Program
Will and Aaron read Leon Trotsky's "The Transitional Program" The Death Agony of Capitalism and the Tasks of the Fourth International" and discuss coalition between farmers and industry workers, the application of democratic slogans, and why Trotsky is a whiny little no rizz bitch boy. All music by Sisyphus Happy.
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Episode 15 - One Dimensional Man
Will and Aaron read Herbert Marcuse's One Dimensional Man and discuss happy consciousness, the sublimation of language, and why Aristotle is a chud. All music by Sisyphus Happy.
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Episode 14 - "Wage-Labour and Capital"
Will and Aaron finally read some Marx on this show, exploring "Wage-Labour and Capital" and finally putting some respect on the name of DOCTOR Karl Marx. All music by Sisyphus Happy.
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Episode 13 - Blackshirts and Reds
Will and Aaron read Blackshirts and Reds by Michael Parenti and discuss left anticommunism, siege socialism, and Mortal Kombat. All music by Sisyphus Happy.
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Episode 12 - Reform or Revolution?
Will and Aaron read Rosa Luxemburg's Reform or Revolution? and struggle to retain the love of Will's mother. All music by Sisyphus Happy.
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Episode 11 - "Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-Tung"
Will and Aaron read "Quotations" from Chairman Mao and work tirelessly to hold the mass line and not become mere bean curd tigers. All music by Sisyphus Happy.
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Episode 10 - "What is to be Done?"
Will and Aaron explore Lenin's "What is to be Done?" while relishing the need to 'stimulate to whole' of the proletariat. All music by Sisyphus Happy.
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Episode 9 - Socialism: Utopian and Scientific
Will and Aaron return to Engels to read Socialism: Utopian and Scientific, debate how to pronounce 'Fourier', and explore the deepest confines of Will's mind palace. All music by Sisyphus Happy.
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Episode 8 - "Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism"
Will and Aaron return to Lenin to read "Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism" and discuss capitalism's tendency toward monopoly, the aggressive expansion of capitalistic colonialism, and if we should own guns. All music by Sisyphus Happy.
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Episode 7 - The Jakarta Method
Will and Aaron explore Vincent Bevins' The Jakarta Method while struggling to fight back fatalism and expose cracker capitalism - all in one hour! All music by Sisyphus Happy.
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Episode 6 - The Conquest of Bread
Will and Aaron read Peter Kropotkin's Conquest of Bread and ask important questions like, "Is there such a thing as anarchist praxis?" and "Is 'dipshittery' a word?" All music by Sisyphus Happy.
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Episode 5 - The Paris Commune: A Revolution in Democracy
Will and Aaron read Donny Gluckstein's The Paris Commune: A Revolution in Democracy and discuss its successes, its failures, and how we're slowly becoming Trotskyists.
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Episode 4 - The Permanent Revolution
Will and Aaron read Leon Trotsky's The Permanent Revolution and, among other things, discuss the merits of subtitles on TV shows, icepicks, and how the hell to pronounce 'epigones'.
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Episode 3 - The State and Revolution, Part 2
Two dudes engaging in radical self-education finish reading The State and Revolution by Vladimir Lenin. In this episode, Will and Aaron explore chapters 4-6 of Vladimir lenin's The State and Revolution.
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Episode 2 - The State and Revolution, Part 1
Will and Aaron explore chapters 1-3 of Vladimir Lenin's The State and Revolution.
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Episode 1 - ”The Principles of Communism”
Aaron and Will read "The Principles of Communism" by Friedrich Engels and explore what modern day leftists should take from this quintessential Communist text. Like the intro? Aaron also writes and releases music as Sisyphus Happy, found on all streaming services. Bandcamp: sisyphushappy.bandcamp.com Instagram: @sisyphushappyband
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Two leftists exploring the question, ”what is to be done?” as they navigate life in a late-stage capitalist hellscape.
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left; unread
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