Episodes
Alyson and Breht analyze the results of the recent presidential election and explore its various meanings. Together they discuss the grotesque hollowness of the Democratic Party, the identity crisis of the post-Trump Republican party, dealignment and realignment, the end of neoliberalism, the rise of the illiberal Right around the world, strategies for developing the socialist left as a serious player on the electoral terrain, how Trump might navigate the Israel issue, the end of neoliberal...
Published 11/08/24
Alyson and Breht reflect on the life and death of the Palestinian resistance leader Yahya Sinwar.
Outro Song "Gaza Strip 2 Detroit" by Sammy Shiblaq
Published 10/19/24
Alyson and Breht discuss the unfolding regional war between Israel and literally all of its neighbors, the restrained Iranian response to Israeli aggression, US complicity and contributions to the fascist mass murder campaign, Hezbollah and Lebanon, Russia and Syria, the decrepit war criminals littering the US ruling class, who is actually running the Biden adminstration, Kamala and Trump tripping over one another to declare their love and loyalty to Israel, why Democrats and their ardent...
Published 10/08/24
Alyson and Breht return to do a follow up conversation to their well-received previous episode regarding this topic, "On Mysticism: Ego, Suffering, & Love". In this episode, they dive even deeper, discussing what enlightenment really is, the universal accessibility of Non-Dual awareness, the arguments for and against Perennialism, the mystical branches of Abrahamic religions, Buddhism and Taoism, meditation, awareness, fascist mysticism, and much more.
Support Rev Left HERE
Check out...
Published 09/26/24
Trump gets shot. Biden drops out. Kamala is coronated. Alyson and Breht discuss and analyze it all.
Omaha Tenants United: https://omahatenantsunited.wordpress.com
Outro Song: Music for Shoplifting by P.O.S.
Published 07/25/24
Alyson and Breht reflect on the pathetic Presidential Debate, analyze the fallout from the debate, and then reflect on some major internal divisions within both American and Israeli societies.
Published 07/02/24
Students and organizers Cheli and Phia join Alyson and Breht to discuss their different experiences on the front lines of student encampments at Cal State LA and the University of Oregon. Together, they discuss the reasons for their protests, share the differing reactions from university administrations and faculty, and give listeners an inside look at the negotiations, stratagies, and current developments of the encampments - all while highlighting the reason they are doing this in the first...
Published 06/05/24
Alyson and Breht discuss the student-led protests for Palestine sweeping across American universities, the reaction to them by the ruling class elite and their attack dogs (the cops), lessons learned from previous movements over the past decade or so, parallels to 1968 and the anti-Vietnam War protests, the current negotiations between the Palestinian resistance and Israel, and what it all means for the broader crisis (geopolitical and internal) racking the U.S.
Published 05/01/24
In this episode, Alyson and Breht wrestle with the possible rise of artificial general intelligence and its implications. Together they discuss the Silicon Valley Techno-Cult and their dark religious search for immortality, their hubristic attempts to "build god" and escape death, their neoliberal subjectivities and how that manifests in their work, how AI might manifest under the capitalist mode of production, the horrors and contradictions of "capitalism without workers", deflationary...
Published 04/11/24
Alyson and Breht explain and explore this famous text from Karl Marx, in the process they discuss French history, class conflict, the peasantry and lumpenproletariat, Bonapartism and Fascism, history, the role of the State under capitalism, and how all of this helps us to make sense of our contemporary moment of crisis in the US and around the world.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Support Rev Left and get immediate access to over 300...
Published 03/19/24
Rest in Peace, Aaron. Free Palestine!
"To burn oneself by fire is to prove that what one is saying is of the utmost importance. There is nothing more painful than burning oneself. To say something while experiencing this kind of pain is to say it with utmost courage, frankness, determination, and sincerity."
- Thich Nhat Hanh in a letter to MLK Jr. regarding the self-immolation of Vietnamese Buddhist monks
Published 02/29/24
On this episode of Red Menace, Alyson and Breht had some things come up such that they couldn't record their planned episode on Marx's 18th Brumaire (coming soon!), so instead they have a deep, organic and wide-ranging conversation on mysticism; together they explore humanities religious and spiritual traditions and the mystical strain within them, discuss atheism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, Sufism, mystical experiences, the role of suffering, holy union and oneness, the dissolution of...
Published 02/20/24
In this Rev Left Family Annual Collab (Rev Left+Red Menace+Guerrilla History), Alyson, Henry, Adnan, and Breht sit down for a deep dive on South African Apartheid. Together they discuss its euro-colonialist origins, explain the significance of the Boer Wars, define and explicate the origins of apartheid, explore the political economy of apartheid and how brutal racism shaped it, examine the multi-faceted indigenous resistance to apartheid, analyze the end of formal apartheid as well as its...
Published 12/14/23
Alyson and Breht discuss the ongoing national liberation struggle in Palestine (recorded Oct. 30th 2023). Together, they discuss the incredible shift in public opinion on Israel and Palestine, the internal and external contradictions culminating in unison for Israel, the discussion about whether or not what Israel is doing is technically a genocide (it absolutely is), international law, Frantz Fanon on the psychology of national liberation, the prospects of a broader regional war, the...
Published 11/01/23
What Is To Be Done? This is the question so profoundly posed by the Russian Revolutionary and Bolshevik leader, Vladimir Lenin, in his landmark text of the same name. Although it was written well over a century ago, this text, the questions it asked, and the paths forward that it provided, are just as relevant today as they were a hundred years ago. And just as urgent.
What roles do spontaneity and disciplined organization have in leftist movements? Can we focus simply on economic reform, or...
Published 10/23/23
Breht discusses the current situation in Palestine, helps listeners navigate and dismantle common Zionist talking points, and (hopefully) brings some much needed moral clarity and intellectual honesty to a topic that, especially in the West, often lacks both...
Published 10/11/23
Originally Aired on Oct 31, 2021
On this episode of Red Menace Alyson and Breht teach, discuss, and apply the lessons of 'Decolonization is Not a Metaphor' by Tuck and Yang
Support Red Menace and get access to bonus monthly content on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/TheRedMenace
Published 10/09/23
Alyson and Breht finish their 3-part series on Friedrich Engels' text "The Origin of the Family, Private Property, and The State", and reflect on the text as a whole. Together, they wrestle with questions, like: What is family abolition? How do rich people buy extended, communal family? What happens to the family and romantic relationships under communism? Should people ever be treated like commodities? How does the title of the text reflect historical and dialectical materialism? and much...
Published 08/08/23
Alyson and Breht discuss the recent rulings by the Supreme Court, a wildly anti-democratic, thoroughly corrupt, and staunchly reactionary institution that the American right has spent years and billions of dollars capturing in order to impose its minoritarian rule on an American majority that firmly rejects what they stand for. And they do it all without having to worry for even a second about pesky things getting in their way: like democracy, human rights, or basic accountability to the...
Published 07/02/23
In this second installment of our three-part series on Friedrich Engels' famous work "The Origin of the Family, Private Property, and the State", Alyson and Breht discuss chapters 4, 5, and 6 titled "The Greek Gens", "The Rise of the Athenian State", and "the Gens and the State in Rome" respectively. Together they summarize the chapters, and then launch into a discussion on the main themes and lessons from this section of the text!
00:15 Intro
1:08 Summary
33:50 Discussion
...
Published 05/25/23
In this episode of Red Menace, Alyson and Breht summarize and discuss the first three chapters of Friedrich Engel's important work of historical materialism, "The Origin of the Family, Private Property, and the State". Together they discuss the core arguments of the text, the anthropological science behind it, why this text is considered a foundational text of Marxist Feminism, and much more!
00:15 Intro
4:28 Summary
51:58 Discussion
Published 03/23/23
Join the Rev Left Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/RevLeftRadio
Join the Red Menace Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/TheRedMenace
Changes Starting Mid-Feb:
- Tripling our monthly patreon output
- Covering the headlines more consistently
- Being more selective about the topics we cover on the public feed
- The integration of Red Menace and Rev Left
Published 02/01/23
Alyson and Breht summarize, discuss, and critique "Desert", an anarchist text by an anonymous author.
Summary:
start 7:20
Discussion & Critique:
start 45:06
Published 12/15/22
Alyson and Breht summarize and reflect on the famous "Bread Book" by Peter Kropotkin: The Conquest of Bread.
After summarizing the text and its main arguments, Alyson and Breht discuss the similarities and differences between Marxism and Anarchism, and both applaud and criticize elements of the text in the process.
Support Red Menace on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/TheRedMenace
Published 11/07/22