Sps

Episode 65 comes in two parts: In the first segment, Andreas talks with Platypus members Clay (Chicago) and Ethan (Philadelphia) about the upcoming Platypus International Convention, taking place in Chicago April 4-7 under the title "What is Left after Trump?". They discuss the various panel topics of this year's 16th Platypus Convention as well as why we keep hosting them. More information can be found at https://sites.google.com/view/whatisleft2024 In our second segment we welcome a triumphant return of the Shit Platypus Does segment - Lisa and Rebekah sit down with members Thuy Linh (Berlin), Noah (Cologne) and Liv (New School) to reflect on the European Conference, held in Berlin at the end of January this year: What did we learn about "The Legacy of Lenin" ? Panels from the 2024 European Conference: Legacy of Lenin panel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoX0unyoPX4 Building a Marxist Mass Party Anew: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ban_NkqrEVE Krise im sozialistischen Lager (in German): https://www.yo

In this episode of Shit Platypus Says, we introduce the first segment of Reds, a series examining the growth of new communist organizations around the world. Hosts Tamas, Lisa, and Rebekah discuss the impetus for such a series: the sudden growth of self-styled communist organizations after a decade of social democratic activity on the Left and a dissatisfaction with liberal politics; a related revision occurring within Trotskyist organizations; and the historical echoes and discontinuities raised by the transition from the Millennial to the Zoomer generation. For the bulk of the segment, our inaugural segment of Reds, Melbourne Platypus members Ryan and Tom sit down with Jamie and Anthony of the Revolutionary Communist Organisation and its Collective of Leninist Youth, based in Australia, for a discussion about its current outlook, challenges, and tasks. The RCO appeared on a panel discussion held by Platypus Melbourne: “Imperialism: What is it, and why should we be against it?” (Dec 2 2023 panel): https

Andreas sits down with Berlin-based members Jakob and Tamas to discuss the upcoming sixth annual Platypus European Conference, set to take place January 25th through the 27th. Further info can be found at: https://100yearsafterlenin.com --- A century after Lenin’s death, the Platypus Affiliated Society aims to critically examine the legacy of the failure of world revolution. Our sixth annual European Conference provides the time to reflect on the nightmare of the twentieth century through teach-ins, panel discussions, and presentations by international Leftist organizations. We hope thus to contribute to overcoming the present obstacles to any future emancipatory Left. The Left is dead! Long live the Left! Ein Jahrhundert nach dem Tod Lenins sucht die Platypus Affiliated Society nach einer kritischen Auseinandersetzung mit dem Erbe der gescheiterten Weltrevolution. Unsere sechste europäische Konferenz bietet Raum zur Reflexion über den Albtraum des Zwanzigsten Jahrhunderts – mit Teach-ins, Podiumsdiskus

This special holiday episode of SPS comes in three parts: (1) In order to make sense of the present, Platypus is hosting an international series of panels "Left Perspectives on the Israel-Palestine Conflict". In the first segment, member Gabe G. and Pamela N. reflect on the first panel of the series, which took place at the University of Chicago. They take up disagreements as well as the assumed agreement and the response from the audience. (2) In the second segment you'll hear soundbites and brief interviews from pro-Palestine rallies recorded by our members in Philadelphia and Auckland, New Zealand. (3) The third part is a deep dive into the Platypus archives. The current conflict has prompted Rebekkah and Lisa to speak with our member Ian M. about past engagements from our archives. They talked about the founding moment of Platypus as well as past panel initiatives on the politics of solidarity and decolonization. References from the Segment Reflecting on the Israel-Palestine Panel - Teach-in Pamela N.: H

We discuss this year's protests in France around police brutality, pension reform, and cost of living with our members Lucas from Bretagne and Paul from Vienna, as well as check in with Parisian protestors with Kristian. Weekly Coffee Breaks in Paris are held at Le Grand Breuget 17 rue Breuget 75011 Paris To stay up to date with Platypus France, get in touch here: https://www.platypusfrance.org

On this special back-to-school episode of SPS, Pamela & Laurie discuss the recent Russell Brand controversy. Brand has been in the news lately, under some heat, as a result of public allegations of sexual assault and misconduct. We take this up in the context of the ongoing sex panic and the ongoing transformation of feminism after #metoo, which leads us to discuss the Barbie movie. On the second part of the episode, our members Evan and the current president of Platypus, Erin, sit down with Benjamin Studebaker, the author of the recently published book, The Chronic Crisis of American Democracy: The Way is Shut (2023). Studebaker explains that the crisis of American democracy is deeply embedded in the America economic system, and develops a theory of “legitimacy crisis”. They take this up in their interview and ask some questions about the current state of American politics as well as his formulations of the ends of a Left political movement. We hope you enjoy this expanded edition of SPS, if you like it, lea

In this episode of SPS, Tamas sits down with Aram Shakkour (@ShaqArama) of the Szikra Movement (@SzikraMozgalom), an oppositional movement based around Budapest, Hungary. They discuss the state of leftist politics in Hungary after the oppositional coalition which Szikra supported, United for Hungary, failed to stop Viktor Orbán’s FIDESZ from winning a two-thirds parliamentary majority. With over 54% of the vote, FIDESZ received the highest vote share of any party since the fall of communism. They reflect on the three decades since the “system change,” as the events of 1989 are known in Hungary, and the deeper history of the Left in Hungary in the 20th century - Szikra's : www.szikramozgalom.hu/about_us - SPS #44: After the Freedom Convoy & the Hungarian Left Today - https://soundcloud.com/platypus-affiliated-society/ep44

In this episode, the Editor-in-Chief of the German Platypus Review, Tobias Rochlitz, sits down with Platypus members Stefan H, Jan BH, and our co-host Lisa M, all of whom contributed to the content of the special PR issue on Gender, to discuss an reflect upon the interview with Koschka Linkerhand, Tove Soiland and the panel discussion 'Gender and the Left‘ with Platypus member Stefan H, Roswitha Scholz and Sara Rukaj. They talk about how the ideas of the New Left survived and continued in the Millennial Left generation, the Heideggerian aspect of Lacan and about the Millennial Left’s focus on so-called “Materialism”. German-language Platypus Review #23: https://platypus1917.org/wp-content/uploads/ausgabe_23.pdf Interview with Koschka Linkerhand: https://platypus1917.org/2023/01/19/interview_linkerhand/ Interview with Tove Soiland: https://platypus1917.org/2023/01/19/interview_soiland/ Panel: Gender and the Left with Roswitha Scholz, Sara Rukaj and Stefan Hain: https://platypus1917.org/2023/07/01/gender-

In this episode Pamela and Laurie discuss the Trump indictment, DeSantis, and the conservative “resolution” to the crisis of neoliberalism through the Culture Wars. In our main segment, Platypus members from Vienna, Berlin, Melbourne and Chicago reflect on the Platypus panel, "A Century of Critical Theory: The Legacy of György Lukács,” (April 1st, 2023), the closing plenary of the 15th Platypus International Convention. The centenary marking the publication of his magnum opus, History and Class Consciousness: Studies in Marxist Dialectics (1923), offers the occasion to ask: What is the meaning of Lukács and HCC today? Over the last 100 years, various claims have been made of HCC. On the one hand, it is said to have inaugurated “Western Marxism” and set the foundation for the Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School. On the other, people have accused it of giving philosophical justifications for terroristic or opportunistic tendencies within Marxism–Leninism. We asked our panelists to consider the following: Wh

In the first part of this episode, Lisa is joined by our German members Jakob, Nezam and Sebastian to discuss the crisis and history of DIE LINKE. They reflect on Platypus panels, interviews, and PR articles to think about the recent manifestations of the crisis within DIE LINKE and the radical Left's relation to the party. They talk about the international influence of the party and its impact on the entire Millennial Left generation. 
The second part of this episode features interviews conducted by our member Nezam at the conference of the faction „Revolutionärer Bruch“ („revolutionary split/break”) in January of this year. The faction was founded by members of DIE LINKE and its youth organization Linksjugend solid to discuss various strategies for moving forward and to deepen the assumption that DIE LINKE might no longer be a political home for the Left. References: 
> 2022: quoted ISA article: https://internationalsocialist.net/en/2022/12/germany  > 2023: Panel Berlin: “War das schon der heiße Herbst?”

On this episode of SPS, Pamela & Andreas interview Spencer Leonard. Spencer is a founding member of Platypus and has recently published a two-volume selection of Marx & Engels journalism. The first volume focuses on Bonapartism, with selections from 1851–1859, and the second focuses on their writings on imperialism, with selections from 1856–1862. He speaks to us about the democratic revolution, liberalism, and the self-contradiction of bourgeois society. Spencer challenges the thesis put forth by Domenico Losurdo of an advancing "de-emancipation" alongside emancipation, and raises the problem of Marxism in the 20th century, and its legacy in the 21st. Links: Marx and Engels on Bonapartism, Selected Journalism, 1851–59 https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781666928044/Marx-and-Engels-on-Bonapartism-Selected-Journalism-1851 Marx and Engels on Imperialism, Selected Journalism, 1856–62 https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781498559232/Marx-and-Engels-on-Imperialism-Selected-Journalism-1856 Domenico Losurdo in the Platypus Review (

On this episode of SPS, we first focus on our Annual International Convention (March 29–April 1), which will take place in Chicago, at the University of Chicago, Northwestern University, & the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Planning committee members, Ryan & Ethan introduce the convention theme, panels, and historical concerns across the upcoming events. Our second segment is a deep dive into the Platypus archives on the question of imperialism & anti-imperialism, prompted by the one-year anniversary of the Ukrainian War, and the twentieth anniversary of the Iraq War. Members, Sunit & Farsad, join Lisa and Rebekah to reflect on the Platypus panels on the Ukraine crisis a year ago, and on the recent developments of the anti-imperialist and anti-fascist Left. They go back to the founding moment of Platypus and the very first panel "Imperialism: what is it, why should we be against it?" (2007). Platypus International Convention 2023 program: https://platypus1917.org/platypus-international-convention/15

This episode includes an interview with Platypus founding member Chris Cutrone, who was interviewed by Johannes K. and Lisa on his article “The end of the Gilded Age: Discontents of the Second Industrial Revolution today”. They talked about the history of progressivism, the deferred problems of the Gilded Age that still impact us today, the unfulfilled task of the Left, as well as the things that led Chris to write this article back in 2017. Links: > 2017: Chris Cutrone, The end of the Gilded Age: Discontents of the Second Industrial Revolution today https://platypus1917.org/2017/12/02/end-gilded-age-discontents-second-industrial-revolution-today/ > 2017: Chris Cutrone, The Millennial Left is dead https://platypus1917.org/2017/10/01/millennial-left-dead/ > 2020: "The Legacy of the American Revolution", a Platypus Lecture Series https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNc4xGUuaRwkwEdVEwLV6X8NxT49XEtx8 SPS episodes contain original tracks by Tamas Vilaghy, and editing assistance by Michael Woodson and Tamas Vil

In the first part of this episode, Lisa & Rebekah are joined by members, Laurie R. & Jasper to talk about how Platypus has captured the relationship between the Left & the elections. They have gone into the archives of the Platypus Affiliated Society, and have asked how our work can help us to think about these inflection points on the Left across the elections, namely, 2008 (Obama); 2016 (Brexit; Trump; AfD); 2020 (Trump & Biden, Corbyn & Boris); and the coming 2024 election. In the second segment, Pamela sits down with the Platypus Review Editor-in-Chief, Lou S., to discuss what is in the Dec 2022—Jan 2023 issue, including the interview with Vivek Chibber, his perspectives on ideology, the task of the Left today, and the DSA & the elections, as well as a book review of Chibber's book by Russell Jacoby, and the interview with Enzo Traverso. Election & the Left Links: 2008: "Obama: Progress in regress: The end of 'black politics'" https://platypus1917.org/2008/09/01/obama-progress-in-regress-the-end-of-black

On this special holiday episode, SPS brings to you reports from protests in the USA, Germany and Austria. We include shotgun interviews with participants and reflections by our members. In the first segment, our West Coast members interview the academic workers part of the strikes at the University of California. They ask the strikers at the LA and Santa Barbara campuses about their participation in the strike and their views on the relationship between this labor struggle and the long-term vision for the Left. On the second segment, our members Marius, Lisa and Andreas went to several university occupations organized by “End fossil: Occupy!” –– a climate justice movement with the goal to put an end to the fossil fuel economy. Students occupied lecture halls in different cities for several weeks to draw attention to their demands and to initiate negotiations with their respective university administrations. Links: (1) On December 15th, 2022 the Platypus Affiliated Society hosted a public forum in New York

On this episode of SPS, Pamela first sits down with Platypus Brazilian members Paulo & Rosa. They comment on the election results, how the Left is responding to the return of Lula, and what the election of the Brazilian Workers Party means for the future of a socialist Left. In the second part, Platypus Oregon member Andony hosts a roundtable conversation on the U.S. Midterm elections with members from around the country. From New Hampshire, Walla Walla, Washington, Philadelphia, to Merced, California, we hear what our members have to say about the left's response and if there is anything for us to learn from this election. SPS is broadcasted on Apple Podcasts, Spotify & Soundcloud. If you like the episode, share it and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts. It helps us get the word out! I. Brazilian Election Segment Links: SPS Ep. 10: On Cynthia Nixon, the Brazilian elections, and Afrofuturism (Sept 2018) w/ Alex Hochuli https://soundcloud.com/platypus-affiliated-society/ep10 "What is political party for

Our 50th anniversary SPS episode comes in two parts. First, we cover the on-going cost of living protests organized by the Left in the U.K, Germany and Austria. Co-hosts Lisa and Andreas attended protests in Leipzig and Vienna, where they recorded soundbites and interviews with several leftist activists. Later, they discuss these interviews and the current crisis on the Left with SPS co-host Rebekah and former president of Platypus, Efraim C. -- both based in the U.K. In our Shit Platypus Does segment, Rebekah and Lisa sit down with our members Audrey and David to discuss how Platypus has hosted the conversation on sexual liberation & the Left. For that purpose they all went into our archive, our panel discussions, Platypus Review articles and SPS episodes, which we have created over the 15+ years of the Platypus Affiliated Society. Platypus on “Sex and the Left” Links: “#MeToo and the millennial sex panic”. Platypus Review 111.  November 2018. https://platypus1917.org/2018/11/02/metoo-and-the-millennial-s

In the first segment, our European Correspondent, Andreas W. interviews Emanuel Rota, a leftist historian from Italy who published extensively on the history of the Italian Communist party. He currently lives in the US and is the director of the European Union Center at the University of Illinois. They discuss the aftermath of the "Long '68" in Italy, the current crisis of the Italian government as well as the impact and outlook of the Millennial Left during the crisis of neoliberalism. The second segment highlight our members in Platypus New Zealand, a new chapter which offers reading groups and coffee breaks at the University of Otago. Platypus member, Michael McClelland (Otago), together with Ryan Mickler (Melbourne), both sit down with Tom Roud, the founder of Canterbury Socialist Society -- a local branch of the newly-developed New Zealand Federation of Socialist Societies. They discuss the socialist William Morris, the role of fraternal, non-sectarian organizations on the Left, exploring how the Federa

This is a stand alone SPS segment to promote and introduce our fifth Platypus European Conference in Vienna, from 8 - 10 September, 2022. Lisa and Rebekah interview the lead organizers of the conference, Victor and Andreas. They talk about the different events of the conference and how they relate to its title "The Crisis of Society and the Left" as well as to our current historical moment of the death of the left. Here you can find all the information about the conference, the different events and how to participate: https://platypus1917.org/2022/06/08/platypus-european-conference-2022/ SPS is hosted by Pamela and Andreas, with original tracks by Tamas Vilaghy, and editing assistance by Michael Woodson and Tamas Vilaghy. Our Sh-t Platypus Does team is Lisa M. and Rebekah P. To learn more about Platypus, go to platypus1917.org

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