My music will make the world a better place.

We Must Defeat Fascism

In which we remember the good and sane bush years.

Watching: An Inconvenient Truth (2006), Davis Guggenheim & Al Gore

Send us a question, comment or valid concern: auxiliarystatements(at)gmail.com

DISCORD: https://discord.gg/csqrrRRD


137. An Inconvenient Truth | Al Gore

The second half of Steve’s conversation with Derick Varn goes into the history of the socialist movement from the 1960s to the present.  

Derick traces some of the current factionalism back to the ideological battles between Trotsky and Stalin covered in Part One of this series. This includes the debates on ‘socialism in one country’ versus international socialism. He covers further divisions within Trotskyism, the Red Scare’s successful suppression of the CPUSA, and the formation of the Black Panthers. He describes the rise of Maoism, its influence on student movements in the West, and further ideological splits. 

Steve and Derick emphasize that historical developments are always connected to the material conditions of their time. Even the Bernie Sanders movement. They talk of the struggles intrinsic to past and present socialist organizations and reflect on the modern implications of these ideologies and the challenges of organizing under current capitalist conditions. 

“In the ‘Eighteenth Brumaire,’ Marx talks about how all great revolutions play-act a revolutionary moment of the past. So, for him... he talked about the English Civil War and the Bible, and the French Revolution, and the Roman Empire.  

“We are stuck LARPing the past because we don't know what the future is.” 

C. Derick Varn is a poet, teacher, and political theorist. He is the host of Varn Vlog. He was a reader at Zer0 books from 2015 to 2021. He spent most of the 2010s outside the U.S. in the Republic of Korea, Mexico, and Egypt. He is the author of the poetry collections, Apocalyptics and Liberation and All the Bright Etcetera.  

https://varnblog.substack.com 

Find all his links at https://allmylinks.com/dionysuseatsyou

The Red Thread: A History of Socialist Tradition with C. Derick Varn, Part 2

Update for listeners, and happy Father's Day wishes; excerpt from latest patron-only lecture on Italy between unification and the entry into the First World War.
Please sign up on Patreon to hear the latest lecture and all patron-only materials! -- https://www.patreon.com/posts/italy-nation-war-131082248

Podcast website:  www.historiansplaining.com
Image:  The Paderno D'Adda hydroelectric power plant, Lombardy, 1895-8
Music: "Nel Blu, Dipinto di Blu" / "Volare," by Domenico Modugno

Update & Excerpt -- Italy: Nation-Building & Entry Into World War I

We're back with a long episode in two parts. 

In the first half, Pam, Natalie, and Ed reflect upon the closing plenary of the 2025 Platypus International Convention, "Is there a Left in the 21st Century?" which featured Andrew Hartman (author of Marx in America), Branko Marcetic (Democratic Socialists of America & Jacobin author), Chris Cutrone (Platypus), and Alex Higgins (Prometheus Journal). 

In the second half, Tamas and Andony sit down with Doug Lain to discuss his experience of the 80s and 90s counter-cultural Left, and possible parallels with our current moment. 

-----

Is there a Left in the 21st Century? (4/5/2025) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EE0zr2hs8i4

SPS Intro to the Platypus International Convention 
https://soundcloud.com/platypus-affiliated-society/2025-convention

Platypus Summer 2025 Reading Group: Pre-Marxian Socialism
https://platypus1917.org/2025/05/22/summer-2025-readings-pre-marxian-socialism/

The Legacy of the 1980s (3/31/22) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EG4uFkcNhHE
Why Does Society Have Politics? (4/5/25) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8a_-4JRdi6c
The Left in the 1980s (2013) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhtI3AfGjcY

-----

Original soundtracks by Tamas Vilaghy
Editing work by Michael Woodson
To learn more about Platypus, go to www.platypus1917.org

Ep 74: The Left in the 21st Century & Interview with Doug Lain

My state senator is running for Real Senate. But he posts on reddit??? Plus: doodoo water. 

Call us at (319) 849-8733!

Go here for full episode notes: https://www.patreon.com/posts/131534142

https://rockhardcauc.us

202 - Things for Tall Brunettes (6/15/2025)

How can the visual arts shed light on the historical relationship between socialism and the natural world?

Uncovering the Socialist Anthropocene

Justin, Evan, and Eden read the first sentence of Hard-Wired.

Listen to the full episode here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/131672377

https://rockhardcauc.us

TEASER - Doughbrain Book Club: Hard-Wired #1 (6/18/2025)

In this episode, we defend an accused criminal, read what our elected officials had to say about potential war with Iran, and spent some more time discussing the Iowa Republican infighting over the carbon capture pipeline and eminent domain. It's all happening!

Call us at (319) 849-8733!

Go here for full episode notes: https://www.patreon.com/posts/131914769

https://rockhardcauc.us

203 - Happening Season (6/22/2025)

DJ AYP's intro to his 06/23/2025 show on Catch22 FM - dissent renegade radio.
It is time to wake up every neighbor in our community. It is time to fight fașċism.

Catch22 FM is an independent, renegade online radio station broadcasting from the West Coast, USA. 
We believe in human rights and respect for everyone. 
We are damned if we do...
damned if we don't....
so we might as well fight against the tyranny of capitalism in our post-industrial, declining society. 
We are the voices of dissent. 
We play the music of dissent. 
A haven for creatures of counterculture.

Stream 24/7:   https://www.twitch.tv/catch22fm  
Stream Audio Only: https://www.catch22fm.com/

it's time to wake up every body

DAMNED IF WE DO, DAMNED IF WE DONT!
FEATURING SLOW SLAMZ, DJ AYP, DJ DIZZY DJANGO, AND RUTHLESS CHARLIE! 

Listen 24/7: https://www.catch22fm.com
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/catch22fm

Brutal slamming goregrind from the depths of Atlanta. 
⚠️TRIGGER WARNING:⚠️ EXTREMELY HEAVY

Listen to leading scholars, activists and writers talk about the practice of history and reflect on the social forces that are changing our world.

History lectures by Samuel Biagetti, a historian (and antique dealer) with a Phd in early American history; my dissertation was on Freemasonry in the 1700s. I focus on the historical myths and distortions, from "the Middle Ages" to "Race," that people use to rationalize the world in which we live.   More info at www.historiansplaining.com

Please see my Patreon page, https://www.patreon.com/user?u=5530632, if you want to keep the lectures coming, and to hear the patron-only materials.

The commentary on the commentary on the Left.

Macroeconomics has never been so ... delish!  Macro and Cheese explores the progressive movement through the lens of Modern Monetary Theory, with hot and irreverent political takes, spotlights in activism, and the razor sharp musings of Real Progressives Founder and host Steve Grumbine.  The cheese will flow as experts come in for a full, four course deep dive into the hot queso. 

Comfort Food for Thought!

Iowa-based news, politics, and culture podcast. Founded in August 2019.
https://rockhardcauc.us

Post-peasant commies Dan and Jack read over bits of theory each week in an effort to understand the worldwide state of socialism.

Email: auxiliarystatements@gmail.com

New tracks tagged #socialism