Anomie: Anarchy in the 21st Century
By Anomie Podcast
The Anomie co-hosts met a decade ago as student activists in the UK and have graduated to unemployed armchair academics in Dublin. Each week they (and a rotating third host) discuss a different topic from both a historical and ideological perspective and try and relate it to the current dystopia of Corporate Feudalism.
Anomie: Anarchy in the 21st CenturyJun 06, 2022
The Provisional IRA
The Irish Republican Army (IRA; Irish: Óglaigh na hÉireann), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, facilitate Irish reunification and bring about an independent, socialist republic encompassing all of Ireland. It was the most active republican paramilitary group during the Troubles. It saw itself as the army of the all-island Irish Republic and as the sole legitimate successor to the original IRA from the Irish War of Independence. It was designated a terrorist organisation in the United Kingdom and an illegal organisation in the Republic of Ireland, both of whose authority it rejected.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3scz1KD9eE&t=1s
The PKK (Kurdish Workers Party)
The Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK (Kurdish: پارتی کرێکارانی کوردستان / Partiya Karkerên Kurdistan) is a Kurdish militant political organization and armed guerrilla movement, which historically operated throughout Kurdistan, but is now primarily based in the mountainous Kurdish-majority regions of southeastern Turkey and northern Iraq. Since 1984, the PKK has utilized asymmetric warfare in the Kurdish–Turkish conflict (with several ceasefires between 1993 and 2013–2015). Although the PKK once sought an independent Kurdish state, in the 1990s its aims shifted toward autonomy and increased rights for Kurds within Turkey.
The Red Brigades
Formed in 1970, the Red Brigades sought to create a revolutionary state through armed struggle, and to remove Italy from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The organization attained notoriety in the 1970s and early 1980s with their violent acts of sabotage, bank robberies, the kneecapping of certain industrialists, factory owners, bankers, and politicians deemed to be exploitative; and the kidnappings and/or murders of industrialists, prominent capitalists, politicians, law enforcement officials, and other perceived “enemies” of the working-class revolution. Nearly fifty people were killed in its attacks between 1974 and 1988.
Models for the BR included the Latin American urban guerrilla movements and the World War II Italian partisan movement, which was itself a mostly leftist, anti-fascist revolutionary movement that the BR saw itself as a continuation of, an example of a youthful anti-fascist minority using violent means for just ends. The group was also influenced by volumes on the Tupamaros published by Giangiacomo Feltrinelli, "a sort of do-it-yourself manual for the early Red Brigades".
In the 1980s, the group was broken up by Italian investigators, with the aid of several leaders under arrest who turned pentito and assisted the authorities in capturing the other members.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBruqMpk5-4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTmFgGOlqTM&ab_channel=Reddebrek
The EZLN- Zapatista Army of National Liberation
The Zapatista Army of National Liberation (Spanish: Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional, EZLN), often referred to as the Zapatistas (Mexican Spanish pronunciation: [sapaˈtistas]), is a libertarian socialist political and militant group that controls a substantial amount of territory in Chiapas, the southernmost state of Mexico.
Since 1994, the group has been nominally at war with the Mexican state (although it may be described at this point as a frozen conflict). In recent years, the EZLN has focused on a strategy of civil resistance. The Zapatistas' main body is made up of mostly rural indigenous people, but it includes some supporters in urban areas and internationally. The EZLN's main spokesperson is Subcomandante Insurgente Galeano, previously known as Subcomandante Marcos (a.k.a. Compañero Galeano and Delegate Zero in relation to "the Other Campaign").
The group takes its name from Emiliano Zapata, the agrarian revolutionary and commander of the Liberation Army of the South during the Mexican Revolution, and sees itself as his ideological heir. Nearly all EZLN villages contain murals with images of Zapata, Ernesto "Che" Guevara, and Subcomandante Marcos.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (aka. Tamil Tigers
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam was a Tamil militant organization that was based in northeastern Sri Lanka. Its aim was to secure an independent state of Tamil Eelam in the north and east in response to the state policies of successive Sri Lankan governments that were widely considered to be discriminatory towards the minority Sri Lankan Tamils, as well as the oppressive actions—including anti-Tamil pogroms in 1956 and 1958—carried out by the majority Sinhalese. Initially starting out as a guerrilla force, the LTTE increasingly came to resemble that of a conventional fighting force with a well-developed military wing that included a navy, an airborne unit, an intelligence wing, and a specialised suicide attack unit. In particular, India's relationship with the LTTE was complex, as it went from initially supporting the organisation to engaging it in direct combat through the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF), owing to changes in the former's foreign policy during the phase of the conflict. The LTTE gained global notoriety for using women and children in combat and carrying out a number of high-profile assassinations, including former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991 and Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa in 1993.
Over the course of the conflict, the LTTE frequently exchanged control of territory in the north-east with the Sri Lankan military, with the two sides engaging in intense military confrontations. It was involved in four unsuccessful rounds of peace talks with the Sri Lankan government and at its peak in 2000, the LTTE was in control of 76% of the landmass in the Northern and Eastern provinces of Sri Lanka. Prabhakaran headed the organisation from its inception until his death in 2009. Between 1983 and 2009, more than 80,000 were killed in the civil war, of which many were Sri Lankan Tamils. 800,000 Sri Lankan Tamils also left Sri Lanka for various destinations, including Europe, North America, and Asia.
The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense
The Black Panther Party (BPP), originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, was a Marxist-Leninist black power political organization founded by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton in October 1966 in Oakland, California. The party was active in the United States between 1966 and 1982, with chapters in many major cities and international chapters in Britain and Algeria. Upon its inception the Black Panther Party's core practice was its open carry armed citizens' patrols ("copwatching") to monitor the behavior of officers of the Oakland Police Department and challenge police brutality in the city. From 1969 onwards, a variety of community social programs became a core activity. The Party instituted the Free Breakfast for Children Programs to address food injustice, and community health clinics for education and treatment of diseases including sickle cell anemia, tuberculosis, and later HIV/AIDS. It advocated for class struggle, with the party representing the proletarian vanguard.
Black Panther Party members were involved in many fatal firefights with police. Newton declared:
"Malcolm, implacable to the ultimate degree, held out to the Black masses ... liberation from the chains of the oppressor and the treacherous embrace of the endorsed [Black] spokesmen. Only with the gun were the black masses denied this victory. But they learned from Malcolm that with the gun, they can recapture their dreams and bring them into reality."
Rebels, Terrorists or freedom fighters?: The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas)
In our first episode of Season 3 we begin our investigation of the role of armed groups in the furthering or failure of revolutionary politics with a look at the Islamic Resistance Movement aka. Hamas.
The IRM is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades. It won the 2006 Palestinian legislative election and became the de facto governing authority of the Gaza Strip following the 2007 Battle of Gaza. It also holds a majority in the parliament of the Palestinian National Authority. Canada, the European Union, Israel, Japan, Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States have designated Hamas as a terrorist organization. New Zealand and Paraguay have designated only its military wing as a terrorist organization. It is not considered a terrorist organization by Brazil, China, Egypt, Iran, Norway, Qatar, Russia, Syria and Turkey. In December 2018, the United Nations General Assembly rejected a U.S. resolution condemning Hamas as a terrorist organization. Hamas leaders Ismail Haniyeh and Khaled Mashaal are based in Qatar.
In this discussion we look objectively at how Hamas was founded, its tactics, its long term strategy and most importantly whether the former has prevented it from achieving its goals of Palestinian liberation.
Season 3 Trailer
Long time no listen! Welcome back fellow anarchists and people looking for something boring to listen to help them overcome their insomnia. After a year of Covid, babies, and unemployment the anomie podcast is back for season 3. This season will be different to those that came before it as it will have an overarching theme and narrative that will link each of the 7 episodes. We will be attempting to discuss the role of armed revolutionary groups in the furthering or failure of radical politics during the 20th and 21st centuries. We will investigate groups like Hamas, the Black Panthers, the PKK, the Tamil Tigers, the IRA and the Italian Red Brigades in the hopes of discovering whether armed revolution is ever warranted and if so when and how? So, join us on 10th April on whatever podcast platform you are currently listening to for our first episode on the Palestinian group Hamas.
In the words of the immortal Emma Goldman:
“People have only as much liberty as they have the intelligence to want and the courage to take.”
Zack Snyder's Jockstrap: The hysteria of modern fandom and the death of Art
In the final episode of season two we discuss the origins of the modern phenomenon of toxic fandom amongst supporters of Pop Sci-Fi and Fantasy movies and TV Shows. Is this simply an over exuberance for the narrative arc of Luke Skywalker or a sign of a deeply chaotic world that is funnelling people into a fantasy echo chamber where they can hide from the horrors of an increasingly oligarchic tyranny.
Please find below the links we used to research this topic:
https://youtu.be/VaLrpU5yilA
https://youtu.be/T3FEsFaRPAQ
https://science.sciencemag.org/content/342/6156/377.full
https://youtu.be/onxeBOnjWnU
Craven New World Part 2: Why Science Fiction can no longer imagine a better future for us
In the second part of our two-parter on science and technology we focus on the importance of science fiction in presenting an image of the future for society to either look forward to or fear. Science fiction once gave society hope that we were on the verge of a great leap forward in both science and human nature but in 2021 little of this optimism now remains in works like Altered Carbon and Blade Runner 2049. What has changed?
Craven New World: Will advances in Technology make a better world possible or entrench existing class inequality?
In this episode we look at the coming advances in technology (automation, AGI, gene editing, etc.) and whether this revolution will improve the lives of working people or simply give birth to a dystopian Bladerunner world. Please find below the articles we used to research this topic.
https://thoughtmaybe.com/all-watched-over-by-machines-of-loving-grace/
https://www.wired.co.uk/article/darpa-arati-prabhakar-humans-machines
https://www.forbes.com/sites/neerajain/2020/09/30/3-things-to-know-about-the-future-of-work-and-automation/?sh=d6e1f9f4a157
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/artificial-intelligence-future-scenarios-180968403/
https://amp.economist.com/open-future/2019/04/25/how-genetic-engineering-will-reshape-humanity
UKrazy: Why England has become detached from reality
In this episode we have an open discussion about why Britain (but really England) has- as the kids would say- gone batshit crazy over the last number of years. Each of our hosts will posit and argue a different crossing of the crazy Rubicon from the death of Diana Spencer, to the David Cameron dead pig scandal and the Brexit referendum vote of 2016, but all agree that Britain is living in crazytown.
"Stupid is as stupid derp": Is the Human species too dumb to survive?
In this week's episode we discuss the simple but rather alarming idea that humans (or many of them) are too stupid a species to prevent their own extinction by human induced climate change. While on the surface this seems a facetious question it actually involves a deep discussion of what "stupidity" is and whether we as a species can escape the genetic or societal inheritance that blinds us to the existential threat of global warming.
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20190709-has-humanity-reached-peak-intelligence
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-may-become-of-homo-sapiens/
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jan/13/top-scientists-warn-of-ghastly-future-of-mass-extinction-and-climate-disruption-aoe
https://theconversation.com/from-human-extinction-to-super-intelligence-two-futurists-explain-26617
https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/nation-now/2016/06/28/stephen-hawking-humankind-still-greedy-stupid-greatest-threat-earth/86459578/
https://intpolicydigest.org/humans-are-fundamentally-stupid-creatures/
https://youtu.be/y50i1bI2uN4
Alba Gu Bràth: The case for Scottish Independence
After a run of polls showing a clear majority of respondents favoured Scottish Independence the topic that dominated our youthful student activism in Edinburgh a decade ago has re-emerged as a real threat to Tory dominance of the UK. In this episode we discuss the history, merits and challenges of said independence from a left wing perspective.
Gaming Stocks: The History of the Stock Market
In this week's episode we discuss the recent Game Stop stock/RobinHood Trading App story in the context of the history of the Stock Market in general and the financialisation of the economy since the 1970s. How did one sector of the economy that employs only 4% of workers in the US economy come to dominate the socio-economic culture of the whole "western world"?
If you wish to learn more the following links will provide you with more information about the Game Stop stock story and the history of financialisation:
https://youtu.be/vtIk7WlINPQ
https://open.spotify.com/episode/6RRH7T3lKUTk6DK9PMcSbh?si=4bTPNvEUTYCL-RT1Vxa76Q
https://open.spotify.com/episode/3SLjaK7lXSybxosehWwRdE?si=kMlMJfKsQ4uDJmnh3_dC7A
https://youtu.be/QpG4abBmyoc
https://timdenning.medium.com/the-stock-market-is-a-ponzi-scheme-2776f075b67b
https://youtu.be/wwfM3IKaZgw
https://youtu.be/m9qRLDLtV2M
https://youtu.be/CY9hW4OHXEc
https://youtu.be/zTT4it_f7Jc
https://youtu.be/7Zd24sn7Els
https://youtu.be/BzacCjtibg0
https://youtu.be/xNt9qXOIGDg
"Robert Preston doesn't understand mirrors": Client Journalism and the Manufacturing of Consent in the UK media
In this week's episode we explore the client journalism of the British press and how the media manufactures consent for the continuing rule of a corrupt and greedy English ruling elite. For those living outside Britain the behaviour of the British media is often astounding: Why do they defend the Tory government? Why do they ignore the huge wealth inequality throughout the country? Why do they mock any small attempt at reforming the political system? Why does Laura Kuenssberg have a job? We will attempt to answer these questions and more.
Please find below a list of our sources for this podcast:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FnbbgUIO4w&ab_channel=SambikiSaruFilm
https://brokenbottleboy.substack.com/p/why-tony-blairs-forever-war-on-media
https://youtu.be/v-8t0EfLzQo
https://twitter.com/dr_tad/status/1352036324140728322?s=24
https://youtu.be/tTBWfkE7BXU
https://tribunemag.co.uk/2021/01/covid-19-has-exposed-britains-client-journalism-problem
The First Anarchist: A discussion of the ideas of Pierre-Josef Proudhon
In this episode we go back to the 19th century origins of European Anarchism with the ideas of the first thinker to describe himself as an Anarchist, Proudhon. He is remembered today for such soundbites as "Property is theft" and "Anarchy is order" but few know that he first expressed so many of the views the Libertarian Left hold dear today. His writings on Mutualist Federation, a fair division of land according to need and labour, and the importance of the working class as the engine of revolution started the conversations many of us still have today. He also had a dark side which included racism, anti-Semitism and misogyny which we will not shy away from.
Please find below some links to our sources for this podcast:
https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/peter-h-marshall-demanding-the-impossible#toc70 (Chapter on Proudhon)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ws_-J4UuwP0&ab_channel=Then%26Now
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43Y4Nd0AJcE&ab_channel=Then%26Now
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyFySXwVvUM&ab_channel=GreatAnarchists
https://www.libertarianism.org/columns/man-paradox-pierre-joseph-proudhon
https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/robert-graham-the-general-idea-of-proudhon-s-revolution
Critical Thinking: How to stop sociopaths conning rubes
In this week's episode we discuss the failure to teach critical thinking in schools and the current danger of non-reality based thinking amongst large sections of the population in America and the UK. Conspiracy theories and white supremacy were within living memory a fringe pursuit of a tiny minority. One week after the storming of the American Capital building by Qanon devotees and Trump sycophants they have taken hold of the political mainstream. How did this happen? And what is the answer?
Please find attached some links to more information:
https://www.truthdig.com/articles/reign-of-idiots/
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.alternet.org/amp/chris-hedges-americas-mania-positive-thinking-and-denial-reality-will-be-our-2647277641
https://youtu.be/DdNAUJWJN08
https://youtu.be/KJQUQh57Lzs
https://youtu.be/JVqMAlgAnlo
https://observer.com/2018/01/american-education-system-suppresses-critical-thinking/
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-intuitive-parent/201703/the-emerging-crisis-in-critical-thinking?amp
https://youtu.be/B2-x82-zuuc
The First Socialist Revolution! The Paris Commune of 1871
In this episode we discuss the pivotal Paris Commune of 1871 and how it set the stage for 20th century revolutionary movements and in turn the reactionary responses of authoritarian governments to said movements. After a 5 month siege by the new German Empire Paris was radicalised by the collapse of the Second French Empire and the revolutionary voices of the Proudhonist and Blanquist radicals in their midst. After a failed attempt to disarm them by the monarchist government based in Versailles for 62 days the working class of Paris would run their own affairs and seek to build a Socialist society in the streets of the City of Lights. The crushing of the commune and the murder of 25,000 Communards by the supposed legitimate government would cast a long shadow over France and the modern European Left.
Please find below the sources for our research for this episode:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/1xlMRjveNWaHkzqziDIkoT?si=hONhoGnzSwSjhYYkhWIkgg
https://robertgraham.wordpress.com/bakunin-the-paris-commmune-and-the-idea-of-the-state/
https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1871/civil-war-france/ch05.htm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYVXYyaYQpg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2TmX_ZIqXI&ab_channel=YaleUniversity
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epGlo2abAYY&ab_channel=MatteoB.
2020 The Rearview
This week we round up some of the top stories we covered this past year, from the fall of Corbyn, the Irish election, (of course) the Covid Pandemic, the US Election and Brexit.
The Norman Yoke: How the Norman Ascendancy still rule England
In this week's holiday spectacular we discuss the continuing power and sway of the English aristocracy in the UK and their links to the Norman conquest of 1066. Before the arrival of Duke William "The Basterd" England was a society of many landlowners and a tradition of elective kingship, the conquest changed that forever as William granted 95% of the land in England to a new foreign Norman aristocracy who imposed draconian taxes collected through the 1000 motte and Bailey castles and eradicated the native Anglo-Saxon elite. Any rebellions were brutally crushed such as the Harrying of the North that resulting in the deaths of over 100,000 people through man made famine. The colonisation of England was so complete that even today almost a millennium later 50% of English land is still owned by the descendants of those Norman invaders and in many ways the habits and behaviours they brought with them are still those of the English aristocracy.
Please find below links to the sources we used for this podcast:
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/sep/07/how-the-aristocracy-preserved-their-power
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2019/apr/17/who-owns-england-thousand-secret-landowners-author
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2011/apr/03/social-mobility-britain-aristocracy
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-norman-yoke/id463700741?i=1000359570790
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/dec/17/high-house-prices-inequality-normans
https://open.spotify.com/episode/6cJs1fYCOy5VQ6ap0r8rtD?si=Gr-_NSD_T-WzcG48WPoJlg
https://youtu.be/RvJxw-SFMF0
https://youtu.be/lwL3MTA-y0o
The War of Error: A Retrospective on the "War on Terror"
In this episode we have an open discussion of the US led "War on Terror" from its roots in the 1980s Reagan administration obsession with the Iranian Revolution and Tehran hostage crisis, to the date seared into many people's memories 11/09/2001, the subsequent invasion of Afghanistan (now the longest war in American history) and Iraq, and much more. This discussion was precipitated by Trump's recent declaration that he would reduce US occupation Troops in Afghanistan and Iraq before he leaves office on 20th January.
Please find below several links for more information on the topic:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84P4dzow1Bw&ab_channel=PaulGo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTg4qnyUGxg&ab_channel=AdamCurtisDocumentary
Celtic Communism: The Life and Legacy of James Connolly
In this episode we focus on the intellectual father of Irish left and one of the founding figures of the Irish Republic, James Connolly. Born in poverty in an Irish slum in Edinburgh to famine refugee parents he experienced the reality of industrial capitalism from an early age. During a relatively short life of 48 years; he would help found the Scottish Labour movement; codified Irish Republican Socialism; was an organiser in New York for the International Workers of the World; was one of the leaders of the Irish Transport and General Workers Union during the 1913 Strike and Lockout; wrote the first working class history of the Irish people; and founded and led the Irish Citizen Army in the 1916 Easter Rising.... and those were just some of the highlights of his political life! Given his huge importance and the breadth of his life we very much encourage listeners to peruse the links below for more on his life:
https://youtu.be/mKrncZAqfE0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2t3Q02pZE_I&t=582s&ab_channel=RepublicanNetworkforUnity
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tqGknooC9g&ab_channel=TerryMcMahon
"Wha's a mada wit EU?": The Internal Atrophy of the European Community
This week we take a look at the past, present and future of the European Union. Formed in the aftermath of the most violent wars in world history (the two World Wars) the European Economic Community sought to bind the nations of European in an economic and political union that would never again permit a World War to destroy the continent. 70 Years later bureaucracy, neo-liberalism and inertia have stalled the European project to such an extent that many hold the EU will not survive into the mid-21st century. We discuss the existential problems facing the Union: nationalism, migration, an aging population and austerity economics.
Please find below links to several documentaries about the EU and it's issues:
https://www.euractiv.com/section/future-eu/opinion/we-need-to-talk-about-the-future-of-europe/
https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/02/06/europes-post-brexit-future-is-looking-scary/
https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/pandemic-border/what-future-eu-after-covid-19/
https://youtu.be/vJWWPRh9r_g
https://www.dw.com/en/poland-and-hungary-gamble-on-funding-with-eu-budget-veto/a-55795455
https://youtu.be/uo0dFWOMaDM
https://youtu.be/Z86h-sCobsQ
https://youtu.be/XgnXwrsMBUs
Nietzsche's 12 Rules for Life as an Incel: Nihilism and the 21st Century
In this week's episode we discuss Nihilism and the ideas of Friedrich Nietzsche often seen as the father of the former. Nietzsche proclaimed that the coming of modernity had precipitated the Death of God and to some extent the history of the following century would be a history of humanity seeking for a new secular religion to fill the huge gap left by the loss of spirituality. Utopian and fantastical nationalisms, Fascism and even Marxism-Leninism all sought to fill these gaps but all failed. In its place we have been left with a corrupt oligarchical and exceedingly nihilistic society where few have any hope for the future.
Please find links listed below for the sources of our research:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkhbSLExYbc&ab_channel=ilkeryoldas
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00546yh
https://trshow.info/watch/Lrc-AMjhrkY/wosop.html
Toxic Liberalism: The Professional Class at Prayer
In this episode we have an open discussion about the nature and deep seated problems of modern Liberalism in the UK, America and Ireland. Born out of the revolutions of the 18th and 19th centuries Liberalism was for the most part a force for good as modern nation states were formed and the old feudal monarchies fell. 250 years later however Liberalism has become the ideology of the professional upper middle class, deaf to the economic needs of the vast majority of the populations of the countries mentioned above.
Please find below some links for further readings:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=472lCEy4dBw&t=436s
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/02/the-origin-of-liberalism/283780/
"We're All Boned!": The History of Civilisation Collapse
In this week's episode we discuss the history of civilisation collapse from the Bronze Age, to the Roman Empire, to the potential collapse of our globalised world due to climate change. Over at least the last 3,000 years civilisations/ Empires have risen and fallen in a cyclical manner. In the case of most of these Empires a combination of ecological disaster, wealth inequality and the breaking of the social contract between the elite and poor doomed them. Could the same issues doom our globalised world?
Please find attached a number of links that we used to research this topic:
https://www.resilience.org/stories/2020-06-08/collapse-of-civilisation-is-the-most-likely-outcome-top-climate-scientists/
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20190218-are-we-on-the-road-to-civilisation-collapse
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3cszjvq
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/b07fl5bh
https://youtu.be/6rVuquKd7Rg
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/romans/fallofrome_article_01.shtml
https://youtu.be/IESYMFtLIis
Legacy of the Irish Catholic Theocracy
In this episode we take a look at the tragic and horrifying history of the Catholic theocracy that controlled Ireland between 1920s and 1980s. For vulnerable women and children this was a rule of terror as "fallen women" (women who had children outside of wedlock) were incarcerated in work camps called Magdalene Laundries, while their children were often sold to American families in what was little more than human trafficking. For the children of troubled working class families this theocratic state could rip them from their homes and house them in Industrial schools where physical, mental and sexual abuse was endemic. This and more has left a deep scare on Irish society, which has been reopened by the recent government attempt to seal the records of the Mother and Baby Home commission. Despite the horrible nature of the topic we try to look at what can be learned from this period and how Irish society has moved on.
Please find below a list of links to more information about the topics and events discussed in the podcast:
https://www.irishmirror.ie/news/news-opinion/pat-flanagan-column-attempts-cover-22933921
https://youtu.be/hWY8hkF3yWk
https://www.facebook.com/BBCArchive/videos/550571951982506/
https://www.aljazeera.com/program/people-power/2020/7/9/irelands-mother-and-baby-scandal/
Two Dementia Patients and an Election: American farce and coming civil war
In this episode we focus on the coming American Election on 4th November but more importantly try to analyse the current state of the American Empire. Several weeks ago the Bad Faith Podcast debated with Noam Chomsky the merits or otherwise of not voting for Joe Biden in the coming election. We discuss the points made by both sides and attempt to put the election in a broader historical context.
Please find attached a link to the Bad Faith Podcast episode with Noam Chomsky:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vsrm1J-QzQ&ab_channel=bstev98
Bob Hoskins' Thong : The Fetishisation of the Working Class.
Hey up lads, this week we discuss how the working class of the UK are seen by the media and beyond. We talk about how you can be a landlord and still be counted as part of the proletariat, how politicians inauthentically represent themselves as authentic, and why Blur are so bad.
The Yugoslavia effect: The coming disintegration of the United Kingdom
This week we look at the parallel of the collapse of Yugoslavia and the current fracturing of the United Kingdom. In the space of 4 years a long established Union of 6 Republics (Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia, Slovenia, Montenegro, and Macedonia) collapsed into civil war, ethnic cleansing and genocide. Economic inequality and differing political cultures have driven the UK apart over the last 15 years with the Brexit and Scottish Independence Referendums signalling the coming disintegration of the Union. Could the United Kingdom go the same way as Yugoslavia?
Please find links attached to the articles and documentaries we used to research this podcast:
http://www.davidmcwilliams.ie/johnsons-uk-and-milosevics-yugoslavia-spot-the-difference/
https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2016/07/05/brexit-echoes-yugoslavia/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDADy9b2IBM&feature=youtu.be&ab_channel=ArjenMolen
The Posh Boy soufflé: Why the British Public School system dominates UK society
In this episode we discuss the origins, day-to-day life and continuing influence of the British Public schools of Eton, Harrow, Winchester etc. over British society. Despite several decades of reform a large majority (70+ percent) of politicians, journalists, actors, military officers, and bankers in the UK come from the only 7% of the population that go to public school. This grip on power of the aristocracy and business class amounts to a near caste system that locks the vast majority of the population out of power both in the House of Commons, BBC, mainstream newspapers, films, military and in the City of London.
Please find below links to several articles and a documentary we used to research this subject:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tF7OJhG7J84&feature=youtu.be
https://newrepublic.com/article/151232/britains-boarding-school-problem
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/jul/22/posh-boys-english-public-schools-ruin-britain-robert-verkaik-review
The Spanish Revolution Part 3: What can the Left Learn from the defeat of 1939?
In the last of our three part narrative of the Spanish Revolution and Civil War we reach the tragic and bloody end of the conflict in March 1939. After crushing the Anarchist Revolution in 1937 the Republican government of centrists and Stalinist backed Spanish Communists attempt to create a professional army to fight Franco but failed. Offensives in Aragon and Catalonia went nowhere and lead to the fall of Barcelona and a crushing series of defeats along the Ebro river in 1938. Finally, the Juan Negrín government fell to a military coup in March 1939 only for the remaining military leaders of the Republic to surrender to Franco on 31st March. For the hundreds of thousands of socialists that survived the final fall concentration camps, mass torture and mass graves awaited them in the one party personality cult that Spain was to remain for the next 40 years.
In this episode we ask some fundamental questions about the entire conflict: could the revolution have been saved and the war won? Did the Anarchist movement alienate those on the fence by it's actions in 1936-1937? Should the war have been fought as a guerrilla war rather than a standard military conflict? Most importantly for the modern Anarchist movement we ask what can be learned from the failure of 1939? And how has the Spain of the 21st century come to terms with the legacy of the War and the Francoist dictatorship?
Please find the following links for information on the period:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqlwMmbpwek&ab_channel=MilitaryMan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zy-A-SMsbk&ab_channel=MilitaryMan
https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/can-europe-make-it/mortal-remains-spain-and-legacy-franco/
https://www.pri.org/stories/2020-03-18/shadow-franco-s-legacy-spain-faces-its-fascist-history
The Spanish Revolution Part 2: May Days 1937
In this the second part of our trilogy of episodes on the Spanish Revolution and Civil War we focus on the key year of 1937. The year began in hope as tens of thousands of International volunteers came to fight for the Republic and succeeded in defending Madrid from the Fascists- who were in turn supported by the military might of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. The fate of the revolution was decided during the left sectarian struggle in Catalonia known as the May Days. And the atrocity of the aerial bombardment of the Basque town of Guernica shocked the world as the seeds of the Second World War were sown.
Please find attached two key documentaries made in 1981 that cover the events of this podcast:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9DxXd0Kl3o&ab_channel=MilitaryMan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozDbGAuUvgE&ab_channel=MilitaryMan
The Spanish Revolution Part 1: Barcelona 1936
In the first of a three part series we will be focusing on the events that surrounded the beginning of the Spanish Revolution and convergent Civil War. During the episode we discuss the origins of the Falangist/ Catholic/ Military alliance and the CNT-FAI workers movement in the late 19th century and early 20th century. The long history of conservative military coups and the spread of the ideals of Libertarian Socialism would eventually lead to conflict on 17th July 1936.
The Spanish Revolution is considered the most important event in the modern history of the Anarchist movement. Please find below a number of readings that go in depth on the events, personalities and practices of the Spanish Anarchist experiment:
https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/daniel-guerin-anarchism-from-theory-to-practice#toc38
https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/the-anarchist-faq-editorial-collective-an-anarchist-faq-10-17#toc61
https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/sam-dolgoff-editor-the-anarchist-collectives
The right to stop working
On this episode our bosom anarchist chums discuss the idea of work (aka. wage slavery) and whether there is an alternative to the 40 hour work week of "Bullshit Jobs" described by the late David Graeber in the form of Universal Basic Income or off-grid communes. Please find the articles we used to research this topic below:
https://harpers.org/archive/1932/10/in-praise-of-idleness/
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/01/why-we-should-all-have-a-basic-income/
https://www.strike.coop/bullshit-jobs/
The CIA did a stupid
This week our intrepid Anarchist chums discuss the CIA penned, Freedom Fighters Manual. A short guide to toppling the Nicaraguan Sandanistas airdropped into Nicaragua in the early 1980s. It was eventually published by the American press in 1984 and is today a subject of fun amongst various lefty nerds. During our discussion we touch on topics like American imperialism in South and Central America, the potency of American propaganda in toppling leftist governments and how James had a recent job interview.
Here is a link to the Freedom Fighter's Manual for you to read along as we dissect it: https://destructables.org/destructable/freedom-fighters-manual-cia-pamphlet-dropped-over-nicaragua-1983
The Bearable Lightness of Anarchism: Why You Should Join the Official Anarchist Club
Moving on from our previous episode where we discussed reasons to reject state-centred solutions to political problems, this week the gang are discussing positive reasons to adopt an anarchist approach. If people respond to your 100% legitimate complaints about contemporary politics with 'yeah? well what would you do?' - point them this way.
We can't upload an image of Oisin's creeptastic moustache to accompany this episode - but trust us... it's suspicious...
This week we are joined by Oisin, James, Alex and Will. Enjoy!
Capitalism 2: Wage Slavery Boogaloo
Today the gang discuss why the capitalism is not your friend despite its seductive tendrils giving you a full brain massage on a daily basis.
Back in the USSR Culture War
This week we look at the culture surrounding the Soviet Union and how it is utilised today. Why are there so many young tankies? How do you get your uncle sent to the gulag? Was Mother Russia even ever communist at all? We answer all of these questions and more. Listen or be denounced!
You Broke my Heart Fredo- Tax, Welfare and the Magic Money Tree
This week we find ourselves moored in the U-bend of Ghislaine Maxwell's toilet waiting for our final confrontation with the evil Ghost of Jeffrey Epstein. Will we learn the secret of who killed him? Is there a global Illuminati? All these questions and more won't be answered.
This week we will also look at the politics of social welfare. We explain how Fredo chocolate bars can teach you about inflation and how governments' use unemployment as a political tool and where the magic money tree is buried.
Black Pride Matters
This week we interview two activists from Black Pride Ireland- Diana and Rayann- about racism in Ireland and Europe and how white supremacy infects all aspects of society.
* We must apologise as the audio drops out at several points during the podcast. Please increase the volume to compensate.
Angela Nagles spinning a fable
This weeks podcast finds us in the sewers beneath Ghislaine Maxwells prison, where we find the time to discuss the current state of Irish politics and examine an article by author of the book "Kill All Normies" Angela Nagle.
The UK Labour Farty: Where 'GRASS'roots probably refers to snitches.
This week two Scots (James, Will) and a Tan (Dan) discuss the history and contemporary politics of the UK (and Scottish) Labour Party. James presents his thesis that the Labour Party has never been a workers' party, was never constituted as a workers' party, nor has it been sincerely directed towards overthrowing capitalism. We discuss this idea alongside many of the other issues plaguing the Labour Party in their most recent regeneration under Keir 'I, for one, like the cops' Starmer. Give us a follow on twitter @AnomieZ. Enjoy!
The Lesser of Two Eagles
In this episode we race across the Atlantic to intercept Ghost Jeffrey Epstein springing Ghislaine Maxwell from prison. During our journey we will discuss the realities, mythology and legacy of the Second World War.
All Your Frogs Are Gay To Us
This week the gang discuss conspiracy theories and how they have taken over the world and driven us all mad...
There is power in the union
This week we find our gallant chums moored in Loch Ness trying to prevent the ghost of Jeffrey Epstein learning the secret of immortality. Will the Loch Ness Monster help us stop him?
As always though we will be discussing an important topic: workers rights in the UK and the importance of unions.
No Justice No Peace No Statues! (and Brendan O'Neill's five-head)
In this week's episode we discuss the continuing Black Lives Matter demonstrations the CHAZ/CHOP autonomous zone in Seattle and the felling of racist/ colonial statues around the world.
What even is Anarchism?
This week we take another break from our Epstein hunt and do another deep dive on the thing that bonds us together- other than a Tug Boat- Anarchy. The gang discusses the meaning, history and practice of Anarchism and how it would function in the world today.
All Cops Are B*stards!
In this special episode of the podcast we refrain from our usual Epstein related hi-jinks to do a deep dive on the events of the last week+ in American politics: The murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police, the countrywide protests, the rioting and the government crackdown. We also will touch on how issues of race effect life int he UK and the Irish Republic.
- https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/06/the-case-for-reparations/361631/