Sps

On this episode of SPS, our resident financial guru sits down with Pamela to discuss the so-called Great Resignation, or “Big Quit”. They take up the concerns over birth rates & mental illness, as well as how social democratic policies naturalize the crisis of capital. In the second half of the episode, Pamela interviews Andy Gittlitz, cohost of the Antifada podcast and author of I Want to Believe: Posadism, UFOs and Apocalypse Communism. They discuss the trajectory of the millennial left, from the anti-war movement, through Occupy to BLM; and the obstacles to building an independent political party on the left. Links: Erin Hagood on Antifada Podcast (March 16, 2022) - https://fans.fm/p/21V7vzkhttps://fans.fm/p/21V7vzk
 Crisis in Ukraine, Platypus NYC - https://youtu.be/Uyoe5ml05LQ Chris Cutrone, "Dogmatization and Thought Taboos on the Left" in sublationmag.com (July 1, 2022) - https://www.sublationmag.com/post/dogmatization-and-thought-taboos-on-the-left Links from Andy Gittlitz - https://www.sm28.org/arti

On this episode of SPS, Pamela and Sophia discuss the Depp v. Herd and the exhaustion of #metoo. Andreas and Platypus members, Sebastian Vogel interview Boris Kagarlitsky on the war in Ukraine and the Russian Left. Finally, Lisa and Rebekah sit down with Chris Cutrone to discuss the Platypus Summer Reading Group on classical social theory, titled "What is Society?" The reading group is happening at a Platypus chapter near you, as well as online for those who are unable to join us in person. What is society? https://platypus1917.org/2022/05/17/summer-2022-what-is-society/

In this episode of SPS, Pamela sits down with Platypus member Tana F. to discuss the potential overturning of Roe v. Wade and the responses by the Left, including Marxist Humanist member, Mike Dola, and the Socialist Workers Party's newspaper, The Militant. They talk about what it means to defend constitutional rights absent an independent working class movement and a socialist party. In the second part, Rebekah and Lisa sit down with Clay M. from Chicago, Lucas B. from Frankfurt and Conrad C. from Portland to reflect on the 14th annual platypus convention 2022. We welcome responses to our segments. You can reach us at shitplatypussays@gmail.com, or you can find us on FB, IG, and Twitter @platypussays. Terry Evans, "A working-class course is needed to support our families, women’s rights" in The Militant, Vol. 85/No. 48(27 Dec 2021) - https://themilitant.com/2021/12/18/a-working-class-course-is-needed-to-support-our-families-womens-rights/ Alexandra Kollontai, "The Labour of Women in the Evolution of the

In the first part of the episode our co-hosts Lisa Müller und Rebekah Parlar sit down with Platypus member Clint Montgomery to talk about our annual international Platypus Convention. Our international Convention, which is sort of the highlight in your platypus calendar, will take place in Chicago from the 31st of March until April the 3rd. In the segment Lisa, Rebekah and Clint talk about why this year's convention will be held under the overarching theme of “Marxism and the ends of liberalism”, what that has to do with the COVID pandemic and what other events will be hosted during the convention. Whether you want to meet Platypus members from all over the world, discuss global trends within the Left and its history or get a sense of meaning of the death of the left for our current moment in history, you should come to Chicago and get yourself a ticket for the convention. Your SPS podcast team will be there as well! For the second part of the episode Lisa and Rebekah talk with the editor in chief of the Ge

On this two-part episode of SPS, Pamela sits with Leila Mechoi, the co-host of Red Star Radio podcast. They reflect on the Left's reaction to the late trucker protest in Canada, and discuss the role of civil liberties in the organization of the working class, as well as what sort of missed political opportunity -- if any -- did the protest present. In the second part of the episode, Andreas and Berlin-based Platypus member, Tamas talked to Peter and Noemi, both members of Szikra, a leftist group in Hungary founded in 2019. They discuss the situation of the Hungarian Left with regards to developments within the international left over the past decade, as well as the next Hungarian parliamentary election in April of this year. They also take up the deeper history of the Left in Hungary and specific political challenges in the "post-socialist "countries of Eastern Europe today. Links for Leila Mechoui interview - Red Star Radio podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/red-star-radio/id1516544636 - https:

On this episode, Pamela sits down with our Toronto member Cam Hardy to discuss Canada's "Freedom Convoy", and the responses by the "Left". They investigate Jacobin's hot take on the "inauthentic" working-class character of the protests, and the call by the Canadian Communist Party to criminalize the convoy. In the second segment, Andreas interviews Amir Sturm, a member of the Austrian Communist Party (KPÖ). Andreas asks about the current state of the KPÖ, its history & political self-understanding and the relationship between the KPÖ and Junge Linke, an Austrian leftist youth organization. Finally, our Shit Platypus Does team, Rebekah and Lisa, chat with our members Ryan, Daniel, and Phedias about how Platypus has engaged the Left over the Legacy of Occupy, the meaning of Capitalism, and the politics of COVID-19 in our panel events in 2021. + The Left on the "Freedom Convoy" > Jacobin https://jacobinmag.com/2022/02/canada-freedom-convoy-conservative-right-wing-anti-worker-anti-vaccine https://jacobinmag.co

In this special Xmas edition of SPS, your new hosts of the "Sh-t Platypus Does" segment, Rebekah and Lisa, chat with the Platypus Review Editor-in-Chief, Lou, about the new issue, PR #142 -- including articles: "What can one learn from the Right?" by D.L. Jacobs, "The Left is not a concept" by Benedict Cryptofash, "We are the city-building tendency" by Caleb T. Maupin and "Paths to Marxism" by Chris Cutrone. New Issue, PR #142 https://platypus1917.org/platypus-review/ Leszek Kolakowski "The Concept of the Left" (1968) https://platypus1917.org/wp-content/uploads/readings/kolakowskileszek_conceptleft1968.pdf The Marxist hypothesis: A response to Alain Badiou's "communist hypothesis" by Chris Cutrone, in the Platypus Review #29 (November 2010) https://platypus1917.org/2010/11/06/the-marxist-hypothesis-a-response-to-alain-badous-communist-hypothesis/

On this episode of SPS, Sophia and Pamela sit down with Spencer L., founding member of Platypus and historian of imperialism, to discuss the Rittenhouse trial and the “Left’s” response. They clear up the confusion around the Second Amendment among todays leftists, address the anti-racism of progressive liberals, and take up responses by Daniel Lazare (Weekly Worker) and the Bolshevik Tendency. In the second part of the episode, Andreas W. and Platypus Melbourne member, Ryan M., interview Sue Bolton (Socialist Alliance) on the protests against the Australian vaccine mandate, including the September attack on the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) offices. Union leadership was under attack by union members for their complicity with state measures, which prevented a return to work without vaccination. Andreas and Ryan ask, how should the left respond? Are these protests simply cannon fodder for the right? How should socialists understand this discontent in civil society? SEGMENT I Links >Th

For this episode of SPS, Sophia and Pamela take up Dave Chappelle's latest Netflix special, "The Closer," and the blowback following its release. For the main segment, Sophia catches up with the makers behind the Aufhebunga Bunga pod, Alex Hochuli and George Hoare, to discuss their new book, The End of the End of History: Politics in the Twenty-First Century. She asks about their characterization of "anti-politics," how they understood the Trump & Brexit moment, and the importance of Hegel for the Left today. Hochuli is a writer and translator living in Sao Paolo, Brazil, and Hoare is a researcher and political consultant in London. Aufhebunga Bunga podcast https://bungacast.com/ The End of the End of History (Zero Books, 2021) https://www.amazon.com/End-History-Politics-Twenty-First-Century/dp/1789045231 Links to SPS episodes with Aufhebunga Bunga boys: [Ep 23] Convo w/ Philip Cunliffe in London for a post-panel reflection on our "After the Election" panel at the London School of Economics https://soundc

On this episode of SPS, Pamela and the Platypus Review Editor-in-Chief, Lou S. chat about the recent NBA crack-up over vaccine skepticism and discuss the articles in the new issue of the Platypus Review. Andreas, our EU correspondent, reports from the frontlines of a protest camp in the North East of Vienna. And, in the last segment, Andreas sits with our German members, Tobias, Tom and Anna, to reflect on the recent Bundestag election. They discuss the past and future of Die Linke, the upset by the Greens & the collapse of the left/right distinction within the Green Party, and the future of a post-Merkel, post-Neo-liberalism Germany. Latest Issue of the Platypus Review: - platypus1917.org/platypus-review/ SPS on the DSA: - soundcloud.com/platypus-affiliated-society/ep22 - soundcloud.com/platypus-affiliated-society/ep8 - and on the DSA & Seth Ackerman: soundcloud.com/platypus-affiliated-society/ep3 Platypus Panels: - Panel Series “What does Climate Change?": platypus1917.org/international-series/what-does-

On this episode of SPS, Pamela and Sophia discuss the Biden bungle of the Afghanistan withdrawal and the responses by the “Left,” including Tariq Ali for the New Left Review and Branko Marcetic for Jacobin. SPS European Correspondent Andreas interviews Eduardo Maura, from the Spanish party Podemos, and asks him to reflect on his political trajectory, from his work in the Indignados -- the Spanish anti-austerity movement -- to Podemos in government, to the party’s recent electoral defeats. In the last segment, Platypus president Efraim interviews Mike Watson, a UK born art & media theorist, and author of The Memeing of Mark Fisher: How the Frankfurt School Foresaw Capitalist Realism and What To Do About It, released by Zero Books in 2021. They discuss the different responses to the New Left by Adorno and Marcuse and the conditions of possibility for political consciousness in an administered society. Links: Chris Cutrone, “Afghanistan: After 20 and 40 years” in Platypus Review 139 (September 2021) https://

On this three-part episode of SPS, Sophia and the Editor of the Platypus Review, Lou Sterrett, give a teaser of what’s inside the latest issue. In the second segment, our European Correspondent Andreas Wintersperger catches up with Ian Cassidy. Originally from Ireland, Cassidy is a Berlin-based activist, working for the campaign 'Deutsche Wohnen & co enteignen' which aims to pressure Berlin’s largest private housing companies to better serve their tenants. In the final segment, SPS co-host Pamela sits down with Victor and Sidsel, our members in Aarhus, to discuss the recent debates over academic freedom in Danish universities in response to the parliament in Denmark accusing researchers of “excessive activism”. LINKS: Platypus Review Issue 138, July 2021 https://platypus1917.org/platypus-review/ Platypus in Aarhus, Denmark https://www.facebook.com/groups/2026045940750202 Chris Cutrone, The end of the Gilded Age: Discontents of the Second Industrial Revolution today, December 2017, https://platypus1917.

On this three-part episode of SPS, Sophia and Pamela catch up to discuss Shaka King’s Judas and the Black Messiah (2021). They reflect upon the director’s interpretation of the Black Panther Party and how questions of black nationalism, the police and the authoritarian state bear on our present moment. In the second segment Sophia sits down with Novara Media’s Commissioning Editor, Rivka Brown to consider the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill (PCSC Bill) and the anti-austerity Left. Rivkah touches on what the potential abolition of the police might mean for the ‘Left’. Finally, Platypus’ Chief Pedagogue, Chris Cutrone, introduces our Summer Reading Groups and gives a taster of what’s in-store. You can find our more about our Summer Reading Groups here: Summer Reading Group 2021: Adorno’s Negative Dialectics https://platypus1917.org/2021/05/08/summer-2021-adornos-negative-dialectics/ Summer Reading Group 2021: Hegel and Marxism https://platypus1917.org/2021/05/11/summer-2021-hegel-and-marxism/ S

On this episode of SPS, Sophia, Pamela and Platypus member Erin report on the Kill the Bill & May 1st protests in London, Berlin and New York. In the second half members Ryan and Sam reflect upon seeding a Platypus chapter in Melbourne Australia. We discuss encounters with local Leftist groups, what Adam Smith has to teach us about bourgeois society, and their upcoming panel discussion: "What is Capitalism and why should we be against it?" To learn more about Platypus in Melbourne, drop by one of their reading group meetings either on Wednesdays online via zoom, or in-person starting next semester at the University of Melbourne. Their coffee breaks are at the Clyde Hotel every second Thursday. The upcoming panel event: "What is Capitalism, and why should we be against it?" is on Saturday the 22nd of May. FB invite: https://www.facebook.com/events/1138149399985555 Reference Links: Platypus Panel: "Corona und die Linke" (in German) https://youtu.be/cynozxmZQsg Chris Cutrone, The Millennial Left is dead, Oct

On this episode of SPS, Sophia, Pamela and Andreas are joined by Aarhus Platypus member, Victor Cova, to discuss the Adam Curtis documentary series, "Can't Get You Out of My Head: An Emotional History of the Modern World" (2021). We cover the response to the series by the Socialist Workers Party (UK), Doug Lain (Zero Books) and Red Scare podcast. We debate Curtis' conservative approach to history, and what the series has to say about the defeat of the left in the twentieth century. At the beginning of the episode, Grant Tyler introduces the upcoming Platypus International Convention XIII: The Platypus Synthesis, featuring panels: From Protests to Politics? What was the Millennial Left?; The Legacy of Trotskyism; The Politics of Critical Theory; and the Death of the Millennial Left. All events will be held online: FB invite, https://www.facebook.com/events/301295494749910 https://platypus1917.org/platypus-international-convention/platypus-international-convention-2021/ Reference Links: Tribune: An intervi

Sophia and Pamela talk about the allegations that Governor Cuomo covered up mishandlings of the COVID-19 crisis and the firing of actress Gina Carano from Disney’s the Mandalorian. In the last segment our German correspondent Andreas Wintersperger catches up with Platypus members from our Leipzig and Berlin chapters to discuss the panels on COVID-19 and the Left, and the legacy of the Communist Party of Germany which were held at our 2nd German Conference. SPS is a production of the Platypus Affiliated Society, more at: platypus1917.org/ Links for this episode: Platypus German Conference recordings Corona und die Linke: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cynozxmZQsg Psychoanalyse und Marxismus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNsU1xVWEsQ&t=5s Was ist das Erbe der KPD?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhCDIwJtaaY&t=13s US-Wahlen und die Linke: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykLrCoKWzJc Zero Covid Campaign article https://zero-covid.org/language/en/ Gina Carano, The Ben Shapiro Show, 21st Feb 2021 https://w

In this special episode of SPS, we discuss Joe Biden's inauguration and the relationship between Art and the capitalist state. Professional creative artists are facing unemployment at rates well above the national average. We take up the proposals for WPA-style intervention, a Ministry of Culture, and a White House Office for Culture. In the second half, we consider the artist Brad Troemel and his attempt to reinterpret “Liberal Cringe” into meme art. Images and videos for this episode can be found at: https://caesuramag.org/montezsps01292021 SPS is a production of the Platypus Affiliated Society, more at: https://platypus1917.org/ Links for this episode: Alison Hewitt Ward, 2010, RIP Art Trump https://caesuramag.org/posts/rip-trump-art Letter of resignation from the President's Committee on the Arts & the Humanities (2017) https://twitter.com/kalpenn/status/898547257062174724/photo/1 Chris Cutrone, 2010, What was postmodernism? -- Habermas’s critique An incomplete project? Art and politics after

In the latest episode of the cancel culture saga, social media companies have taken into their own hands to censor content. Trump’s tweets, Zero Book’s videos, & Brad Troemel’s memes, have all been subject to the policing eye of so-called “fact checkers.” In the first part of this episode, Laurie joins Pamela to discuss the new wave of censorship under our Silicon Valley dystopia and the realignment of liberals in the Age of Trump. In the second part of the episode, we focus on how the German-speaking Left has responded to the recent terror attacks in France and Austria. Our European Correspondent, Andreas, joins Sophia and Pamela to discuss the responses by the anti-imperialist left, featuring Der Funke, the Austrian faction of the International Marxist Tendency (IMT) and Marx 21 in Germany. Second, Andreas interviews Michael Fischer, an Austrian anti-fascist and recent contributor to the anti-German publication Bahamas. Fischer presents his critique of political islam and his thoughts on the anti-imperiali

***U.S. election special*** On this episode Pamela and Sophia catch up with Conrad Cartmell (Class Unity caucus, DSA), Mara Henao & Kaitlin Buck (Philly Socialists) and Benjamin Studebaker (British Academic Union) to reflect upon the Left under Trump - and what lies ahead under a Biden administration. This episode contributes to a larger body of work by the Platypus Affiliated Society, attempting to make sense of the Left’s reaction to the changing political reality. A panel event, with a similar topic was recently held at George Mason University(1). Be sure to follow us on social media. On Instagram were ‘shitplatypussays’, and on Twitter: ‘platypussays’. Visit us on Facebook under the Platypus Affiliated Society or visit www.platypus1917.org. If you like the podcast, share it, rate it, and write us a review! (1) Platypus Panel, held at George Mason University: "The Future after the Election: What's Left?": https://youtu.be/7SPBRSfqB5Q (2) Beyond the Vote: Base-Building for Class Independence in Phila

Pamela Nogales and Sophia Freeman discuss the shaming of black celebrities who dare to question the black loyalty to the Democratic Party. In particular we address the Left’s reception to Ice Cube’s ‘Contract for Black America,’ proposed to both the Democratic and Republican parties. Pamela sits down with Chris Cutrone to discuss what another four years of Trump--or Biden--might mean for the Left. In the last segment Sophia catches up with our new EU Correspondent, Andreas Wintersperger, to discuss the Left’s response to the on-going migrant crisis and their reaction to the recent fires that have destroyed large migrant camps in Greece. Links: (1) West Coast Platypus election watch party, Tuesday Nov 3, starting at 7:00pm Pacific time: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMrcuCvrTsjHtaNlh1UVGprn63LKqpSuV-K (2) Chris Cutrone, Marxism in the Age of Trump, Articles from the Platypus Review 2015 – 2017: https://www.amazon.com/Marxism-Age-Trump-Articles-2015-2017/dp/0996206132 (3) Efraim Carlebach, Re