Books are Good, Actually

For August, we watched Don't Look Up directed by Adam McKay. We discussed our favorite characters and moments, what worked and didn't work, we answered the question about was this really an allegory to climate change and so much more!

Articles referenced:

For July, we read The Murderbot Diaries: Artificial Condition by Martha Wells! We discuss our favorite characters and moments, revelations made or not made in the book, and if we are AI if we took questions from Reddit.

For August, we are going to watch "Don't Look Up!" available on Netflix.

For the month of June, we read Slow Down by Kohei Saito! We discussed the life long pursuit of studying and reinterpreting Marx, Saito's four outcomes and futures, disaster capitalism, another rant on vegetarianism by Angela, and a very bad attempt to end on a more hopeful note.

For May, we read Midnight in Chernobyl by Adam Higginbotham! We discussed the little town around the little nuclear plant, the big explosion, who's at fault, and if we would even visit.

For April, we read Socialist States and the Environment Lessons for Eco-Socialist Futures by Salvatore Engel-Di Mauro! We discussed things we have learned from the examples of socialist states, what was missing from the book, comparison to Half-Earth Socialism, and degrowth policies.

https://monthlyreview.org/2022/09/01/a-new-environmental-history-of-socialist-states/

For March, we read King Richard by Michael Dobbs! We discussed our knowledge about Watergate, interesting tidbits gleamed from the book, what critical mistakes were made and the structure of the book.

Upcoming:

For February, we read Neuromancer by William Gibson! We discussed our favorite characters and scenes, vocabulary/language, comparing Neuromancer with its contemporaries, Gibson's vision of the future and would we live in that world!

Angela wrongly misidentified the comic Transmetropolitian as Cosmopolitian. Sorry for that mix up.

Upcoming Books:

New year, new book! For January, we read How to Read Lacan and we sort of understand it now. We discuss the regrettable choice of reading Less than Nothing first, looking at horror movies through Lacian lens, how dating can also be looked at in a Lacian lens and even Kingdom Hearts!

Upcoming books:

Our last book of the year, we read Half-Earth Socialism! We discussed that this is actually our third eco-socialist book, interrogated the solutions provided, veganism (again...Angela's fault), and the critique's!

For November, we discuss Ten Myths about Israel by Ilan Pappe! We discuss our own misconceptions and myths we have about Israel and Palestine, socialism and Zionism, an interesting discussion about Hamas, one state solution and how we can support the Pro-Palestinian side.

Another late one but we managed, for our October book we read Men,Women and Chainsaws! We discussed the surprising analysis of possession films, could we apply the same analysis to contagion movies, grouping of horror movies, horror movies and race, and a side chat about Resident Evil movies and The Human Centipede!

Due to the Gaza Genocide we moved books down by one month:

For September, we read Hegemony and Socialist Strategy by Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe! Although we were late we did finish the book, we discussed the definitions, post-marxism, direct democracy, and starting compounds in minecraft.

For August, we read Weird Scenes inside the Canyon and it was a doozy. We discussed the author's thesis, the evidence presented, debunked a misconception about Jim Morrison, the CIA, and most importantly Charles Manson!

For July, instead of reading a book we watched a movie - How to Blowup a Pipeline! We discussed our favorite characters, how those character's motivations worked for us, opsec corner, FBI's portrayal, the trolley problem and much more.

Next month, we are back to reading!

For June, we read Blood in my Eye by George Jackson! We discussed Jackson's historical view and definition of fascism, Frankenstein's monster as capitalism, dogmatism in revolutionary theory and tactics, our favorite passages, and revolutionary violence.

For May, we read Jesus and John Wayne by Kristen Kobes du Mez! We discuss muscular christianity, the tenets of evangelicalism, the myth of the cowboy and John Wayne, evangelicals obsession with sex and being very angry!

For April, we read Rules for Radicals by Saul Alinsky! We discussed some of our misgivings with the tactics Alinksy described, the two people who recommended this book (surprising but at the same time...unsurprising), the categorization of haves and have-nots, means to an end, big tent organizations, and being on a CIA list.

For March, we read State and Revolution by Vladimir Lenin! We discussed our history with him, Kautsky, opportunists and what their goals are, how we can/cannot wither away the state, the problem with the dictatorship step and Sonic the hedgehog!

For the month of February, we finished up (well in the case for Jimmy...) The Dawn of Everything! In this episode we discussed why Angela didn't finish and the elusive chapter 11.5, how we felt the book defined states and other aspects of political power, bird chirping, cheesecake making, and discussion of critiques that were levied at the book. We also got sidetracked by communist sonic fan art. 

For the month of January we started The Dawn of Everything by David Graeber and David Wengrow! We discussed our history with pre-history and anthropology, failing of high school history, trying to define freedom, misconceptions of "tribal" life and a side bar about Guns,Germs and Steel. 

New year, late start but we read in December Revolutionary Suicide by Huey P. Newton! We discussed our very tepid background on the author, Black Panther Party, the concept of revolutionary suicide and reactionary suicide, solitary confinement, cults, and the legacy of Black Panther Party itself. It gets a little spicy at the end ;) 

Articles referenced:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/mood-swings/201008/revolutionary-suicide 

https://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=34268 

For November, we read Reform or Revolution by Rosa Luxemburg! We discussed Bernstein's and Luxemburg's position, just shitting on Bernstein, had a lot of side bars about vanguard parties and revolutions in history, pre-mature revolutions and changing our outro! 

For spooky October, we read Chaos: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties by Tom O'Neill. We discussed changing narratives, our previous knowledge of the time period of the book, what we think is the connection between the CIA and Manson, and remind everyone to not do speed!

For September we read Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Kimmerer. We discussed our initial thoughts and impressions, how the book approached science and spirituality, reciprocity and gift economy, vibing with verbs, and potentially smoking peyote. 

Discussion questions from: 

https://medium.com/fwslibrary/braiding-sweetgrass-discussion-questions-eb7d3e0dc9ff

https://inspiredepicurean.com/braiding-sweetgrass-book-club-questions/

Upcoming Books:

For August, we read Abolish Silicon Valley by Wendy Liu! We discussed our parallels with the author's journey, the naivety of the Cathedral and the Bazaar, we review her steps and how we think they didn't go far enough, and if we would join a start up and more! 

For July, we read and discuss Settlers by J. Sakai. We go over our impressions of the book, how this compares to People's History, failure of leftist organizations, J. Sakai's thesis, criticism and how to try to scam our way to a history master's program. We had a guest commentary from Angela's partner! 

Sites mentioned:

https://thecharnelhouse.org/2017/05/15/dont-bother-reading-settlers-by-j-sakai/

https://skeptomai.substack.com/p/j-sakai-mim-and-anarchism

https://old.reddit.com/r/communism101/comments/lyt97l/information_about_j_sakai/

https://libcom.org/article/when-race-burns-class-settlers-revisited-interview-j-sakai

For June, we read Goddess of Anarchy by Jacqueline Jones, we discuss our previous knowledge of Chicago and Texas history and labor movements, some critical Amazon reviews, the Haymarket trial, Lucy's and Albert's tactics and their effectiveness, amongst other things including if Lucy would be a podcaster or a debate bro. 

Support abortion funds!

https://abortionfunds.org/

For May, we read All Systems Red by Martha Wells! We discussed our impressions, our favorite characters and moments, the gender of Murderbot, what we hope to see in the future books and we didn't talk about Elden Ring even once!  Jimmy sounds like he's in a fishbowl due to some unavoidable sound issues, I tried my best. 

Tor Article: https://www.tor.com/2018/03/21/life-lessons-from-a-murderbot-reading-all-systems-red-as-a-trans-woman/

Additional Discussion Question: https://wpl-podcast.winnipeg.ca/july-discussion-all-systems-red-by-martha-wells/

We finally finish up our fourt parter of Less than Nothing! We discuss the last part and the conclusion, our feelings about it, we try to answer the question of does Zizek accomplish what he was after, do we still need Zizek, Chomsky vs Zizek, then we go on various tangents and a bird appears! 

Articles mentioned: 

https://www.currentaffairs.org/2022/04/noam-chomsky-on-how-to-prevent-world-war-iii 

In February, we are continuing to read to the end of Part 2 of Slavoj Zizek's Less than Nothing! We attempt to connect F.D. Signifier's video on Drake and the Death of Hip Hop with dialectics, we veer into Dark Souls and Elden Ring association with dialectics, we talk about our favorite passages, Zizek's problem with marriage, and we once again answer do we need Hegel in our current time. 

For January, we started reading Less than Nothing! We stumbled and bumbled our way through to Chapter 5, relating Hegel to Pokemon, would we get something from this book, our definition of dialectics, dialectics and pop culture, do we need Hegel in the modern world? 

How to Read Zizek - https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/how-to-read-zizek/

For December, we read Hammer and Hoe by Robin D. G. Kelly! We discussed our general thoughts and feelings about the book, the differences of the application of the New Deal, black communists vs black folks in labor movements, naacp vs ild, white leftism in the 30s and now and how it relates to race and sex, and lessons learned from these organizations.

For November, we read Blackshirts and Reds by Michael Parenti! We discussed the author's background, thoughts and feelings about the book, siege vs pure socialism, general take aways. We had a few technical difficulties on Angela's end so apologies if some parts of the podcast are choppy!

Noam Chomsky article - https://www.greanvillepost.com/2020/06/03/the-mainstream-and-the-margins-noam-chomsky-vs-michael-parenti/

For the spooky month of October we read The Occult Book: A Chronological Journey from Alchemy to Wicca by John Michael Greer. We discuss our history/interest of the occult, our not so great feelings on our monthly reading, why did entries of the book seemed to fall off around the 50s, the resurgence of astrology and a special tarot card reading!

And of course a list of Jimmy's favorite podcast for spooky times.

For the month of September, we read The Legacy of Ashes: History of the CIA by Tim Weiner! We discuss the author, our impressions, the one critique we found, and a hypotheticals of CIA existence and the need for CIA if the US was a socialist country. 

Critique - https://americandiplomacy.web.unc.edu/2007/10/legacy-of-ashes-the-history-of-the-cia/

For August, we read How to Blow Up a Pipeline by Andreas Malm! We discuss the author's background, our impressions of the book, addressing critiques and what we can do as a society and as individuals.

Articles mentioned -

https://www.lareviewofbooks.org/article/sabotage-can-be-done-softly-on-andreas-malms-how-to-blow-up-a-pipeline/

https://canadiandimension.com/articles/view/how-to-blow-up-a-movement-malms-new-book-dreams-of-sabotage-but-ignores-consequences

For July, we read Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clark we use a reading guide questions to discuss our book, how Jonathan and Mr. Norrell are a representation of liberal and conservative thought. This is also our first time recording in the same room! Jimmy references more podcasts he listens to and we have the rest of the year's reading list. 

https://www.bookbrowse.com/reading_guides/detail/index.cfm/book_number/1463/jonathan-strange-mr-norrell

Reading List - 

For June, we read Masters of Doom by David Kushner, a brief overview of Masters of Doom, a lot of talk Daikatana, The Two Johns and their break up, Joe Lieberman and Columbine, surprising crossovers, the influence of Doom and Quake on video games and future esports, what the Two Johns are up to and our history with id games. 

Bill Gates in Doom - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dVAhFYjp9c 

For the month of May, we discuss the book Against the Fascist Creep by Alexander Reid Ross! We discuss definitions of fascism, things we learned from our reading, do the definitions of fascism hold up in a modern age, and how can leftists create networks across the globe. 

Additional Notes: 

Response to a critique - https://towardfreedom.org/story/archives/americas/against-the-fascist-creep-mistaken-histories/

Definition of Fascism - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Definitions_of_fascism

Additional Podcasts: 

Behind the Bastards 

https://www.iheart.com/podcast/105-behind-the-bastards-29236323/episode/part-one-the-birth-of-american-30110960/

https://www.iheart.com/podcast/105-behind-the-bastards-29236323/episode/does-punching-nazis-work-a-conversation-29751052/

https://www.iheart.com/podcast/105-behind-the-bastards-29236323/episode/the-silly-bastards-behind-the-modern-29745220/

https://www.iheart.com/podcast/105-behind-the-bastards-29236323/episode/part-one-how-the-john-birch-75193831/

https://www.iheart.com/podcast/105-behind-the-bastards-29236323/episode/behind-the-insurrections-how-fascism-76855632/

I Don't Speak German - https://idontspeakgerman.libsyn.com/

Youtube: 

The Great Replacement isn't Real - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUbxVfSqtt8

For April we read, The Assassination of Fred Hampton by Jeffrey Haas! We discuss the overarching book, what is Fred Hampton's legacy, was justice served, when to take up armed resistance, and the new documents obtained from the FBI about COINTELPRO. Also Jimmy says redact a lot! 

Dollop Episode about Fred Hampton - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlgLMEdslAI

Behind the Bastards about Fred Hampton - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/part-one-the-bastards-who-killed-the-black-panthers/id1373812661?i=1000463894711

Jacobin Article - https://www.jacobinmag.com/2021/03/fred-hampton-black-panther-party-fbi-documents

Weather Underground - https://www.globalresearch.ca/weather-underground-members-speak-out-on-the-media-imperialism-and-solidarity-in-the-age-of-trump/5606614

Revolutionary Left Series on Fred Hampton - 

https://revolutionaryleftradio.libsyn.com/fred-hampton

https://revolutionaryleftradio.libsyn.com/fred-hampton-foia

Revolutionary Left on George Jackson - 

https://revolutionaryleftradio.libsyn.com/blood-in-my-eye

For March, we read Black Skin, White Masks by Frantz Fanon. We discuss our impressions, do a brief overview with the help of the Standford Encyclopedia article, and some discussion questions. 

Youtube video mentioned - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hE5BTPb0X2g

Summary - https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/frantz-fanon/

Discussion questions - https://blogs.ubc.ca/chendricks/tag/black-skin-white-masks/

Upcoming books -