Platypus Affiliated Society

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://platypus1917.org/2021/09/02/afghanistan-after-20-and-40-years/ Tariq Ali, “Debacle in Afghanistan” New Left Review: Sidecar (16 August 2021) https://newleftreview.org/sidecar/posts/debacle-in-afghanistan Branko Marcetic, “Joe Biden Was Right to Pull Out of Afghanistan” Jacobin (24 August 2021) https://jacobin-v2.positiondevapp.com/2021/08/joe-biden-afghanistan-taliban-us-military-foreign-policy-pullout Tariq Ali Interviewed by Chris Cutrone, on Iraq, the anti-war movement, and the state of the Left conducted on October 15, 2007 at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. https://platypus1917.org/2007/10/15/tariq-ali-interviewed-by-chris-cutrone/ “Imperialism: What is it—Why should we be Against it?” On January 30th, 2007, Platypus hosted its first public forum. It features Adam Turl of the International Socialist Organization (ISO), Kevin Anderson of the Marxist-Humanist group News and Letters, Nick Kreitman of the new Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), Danny Postel of Open Democracy, and Chris Cutrone of Platypus. https://platypus1917.org/2010/07/09/imperialism-what-is-it-why-should-we-be-against-it/ “¿Más allá de la izquierda y la derecha? (Beyond left and right?): An Interview with Eduardo Maura of Podemos” by Lucy Parker and David Mountain with Nikos Manousakis in Platypus Review 72 (December 2014 – January 2015) https://platypus1917.org/2014/12/01/mas-alla-de-la-izquierda-y-la-derecha/ Mike Watson, The Memeing Of Mark Fisher: How The Frankfurt School Foresaw Capitalist Realism And What To Do About It (2021) https://www.johnhuntpublishing.com/zer0-books/our-books/memeing-mark-fisher Efraim Carlebach, “Forgetting Mark Fisher” in Platypus Review 115 (April 2019) https://platypus1917.org/2019/04/01/forgetting-mark-fisher/ Hosted by Sophia F., Pamela N. and Andreas W., with original tracks by Tamas Vilaghy, and editing assistance by Michael Woodson. To learn more about Platypus, go to Platypus1917.org.

On this three-part episode of SPS, Sophia and the Editor of the Platypus Review, Lou Sterret, give a teaser of what’s inside the latest issue. In the second segment, our European Correspondent Andreas Winterspereger 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 Cecil, 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 Chris Cutrone, The end of the Gilded Age: Discontents of the Second Industrial Revolution today, December 2017, https://platypus1917.org/2017/12/02/end-gilded-age-discontents-second-industrial-revolution-today/ Chris Cutrone, On philosophy and Marxism: response to Suther and Velissaris, 2020, https://platypus1917.org/2020/11/01/on-philosophy-and-marxism-response-to-suther-and-velissaris/ Jensen Suther and Thodoris Velissaris, Response to Cutrone, November 2020, https://platypus1917.org/2020/11/01/response-to-cutrone/ Panel Discussion in German, “Die Wohnungsfrage und die Linke”, July 2021: https://www.facebook.com/events/846627772897730/?acontext=%7B%22event_action_history%22%3A[%7B%22mechanism%22%3A%22your_upcoming_events_unit%22%2C%22surface%22%3A%22bookmark%22%7D]%2C%22ref_notif_type%22%3Anull%7D Petition In Solidarity with Danish Researches, June 2021, https://atgender.eu/academic-freedom-in-denmark-open-letter-2-june-2021/ Ludvig Goldschmidt Pedersen, The Academic Culture War Comes to Denmark, June 2021, https://www.jacobinmag.com/2021/06/denmark-parliament-motion-research-fields-academic-freedom-feminism-postcolonial-migration-race-studies

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 radicalism, 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 Pedguage, 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/ Summer Reading Group 2021: The Black Question and the Left from 1776 to BLM https://platypus1917.org/2021/05/21/summer-2021-the-black-question-from-1776-to-blm/ Resources and Reference Links: Online: Novara Media, https://novaramedia.com/ Rivkah’s Links: Book: Adam Elliott-Cooper, Black Resistance to British Policing, 2021 Book: Mark Neocleous, A Critical Theory of Police Power: The Fabrication of the Social Order, 2000 Platypus Links: Article: Chris Cutrone, Republicans and riots: The Left in death, 1992 and 2020, https://platypus1917.org/2020/07/01/republicans-and-riots/ Interview: with Bobby Seale (Black Panther Party), 2019 platypus1917.org/2019/02/03/the-b…-seale%EF%BB%BF/ Interview: with Kathleen Cleaver (Black Panther Party), 2019 platypus1917.org/2019/02/03/the-b…athleen-cleaver/ Panel: Police Brutality and the Left (July 11, 2020) Panelists: Gerald Smith (Oscar Grant Committee), Larry Holmes (Workers World Party), Andrea Pritchett (Berkeley Copwatch), and Conrad Cartmell (DSA, Class Unity Caucus). https://platypus1917.org/2020/09/01/police-brutality-and-the-left/ Panel: Platypus at Left Forum NYC 2010: The American Left and the "black question:" from politics to protest to the post-political (2010) [Audio] Panelists: Tim Barker, Columbia U.; Benjamin Blumberg, Platypus; Pamela Nogales, Platypus; Chris Cutrone, Platypus. https://archive.org/details/PlatypusAtLeftForumNyc2010TheAmericanLeftAndTheblackQuestion Panel: Platypus Public Panel Series: “Black Politics and State Violence” (2015) University of Chicago (03/20/15) [Audio]Panelists: Michael Dawson and Mel Rothenberg, https://platypus1917.org/2015/05/22/5-21-2015-black-politics-and-state-violence-a-panel-discussion-university-of-chicago/ Panel: Platypus Public Panel: “The American left and the ‘Black Question’: From politics to protest to the post-political” (Chicago, 2015) Panelists: Toby Chow, Southsiders Organized for Unity and Liberation (SOUL) and The People’s Lobby; Brandon Johnson, Chicago Teachers Union (CTU); August Nimtz, author of Lenin's Electoral Strategy from 1907 to the October Revolution of 1917 (2014) https://platypus1917.org/2015/05/02/american-left-black-question-politics-protest-post-political/ Hosted by Sophia F., Pamela N and Andreas W., with original tracks by Tamas Vilaghy, and editing assistance by Michael Woodson.

On this episode of SPS, Sophia, Pamela and Platypus member Erin chat about 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, the concerns of young people interested in the Left and the topic of 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 from 9-11:30pm 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 from 6.30pm. The upcoming panel event: "What is Capitalism, and why should we be against it?" is on Saturday the 22nd of May 3.5pm see: https://www.facebook.com/events/1138149399985555 Reference Links: Chris Cutrone, The Millennial Left is dead, October 2017 https://platypus1917.org/2017/10/01/millennial-left-dead/ Spencer Leonard, Zero Squared 207: Adam Smith-Revolutionary, July 2019 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cApVoE_A-JM Hosted by Sophia F., Pamela N and Andreas W, with original tracks by Tamas Vilaghy, and editing assistance by Michael Woodson. Cover photograph by Piotr Pietrus (@piotr.pietrus on Instagram).

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. \n\nAt 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\nhttps://platypus1917.org/platypus-international-convention/platypus-international-convention-2021/\n\nReference Links:\n\nTribune: An interview with Leo Panitch, A Decade on the Left\nhttps://tribunemag.co.uk/2020/03/a-decade-on-the-left\n\nJacobin: Mike Watson, In Defense of Herbert Marcuse\nhttps://www.jacobinmag.com/2021/02/herbert-marcuse-matt-taibbi-frankfurt-school\n\nSocialist Worker: Adam Curtis mixes stunning images with dodgy politics\nhttps://socialistworker.co.uk/art/51349/Adam+Curtis+mixes+stunning+images+with+dodgy+politics\n\nDoug Lain (Zero Books): The secret (and not so secret) conservatism of Adam Curtis\nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76StMC0l7kU&ab_channel=ZeroBooks\n\nJacobin, Interview with Adam Curtis\nhttps://jacobinmag.com/2021/03/adam-curtis-bbc-cant-get-you-out-of-my-head-interview\n\nBuilding A Better Society: Have we run out of new ideas? | Adam Curtis & Russell Brand\nhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aN7UCUDzXGA&t=1s\n\nArt Review: The Reverse Marxism of Adam Curtis’s ‘Can’t Get You Out Of My Head’\nhttps://artreview.com/the-reverse-marxism-of-adam-curtis-cant-get-you-out-of-my-head-bbc-iplayer-review/\n\nPlatypus Links:\n\n2019 Interview with Bobby Seale (Black Panther Party)\nhttps://platypus1917.org/2019/02/03/the-black-panther-party-and-community-organizing-an-interview-with-bobby-seale%EF%BB%BF/\n\n2019 Interview with Kathleen Cleaver (BPP) \nhttps://platypus1917.org/2019/02/03/the-black-panther-party-malcom-x-and-the-question-of-revolutionary-politics-today-an-interview-with-kathleen-cleaver/\n\n2012 Interview with David Graeber\nhttps://platypus1917.org/2012/01/31/interview-with-david-graeber/\n\nDavid Graeber on \"Radical Interpretations of the Present Crisis,\" Platypus public fora in London, 12.01.2012\nhttps://platypus1917.org/2013/04/01/radical-interpretations-of-the-present-crisis-london-platypus-review/\n\nHosted by Sophia F., Pamela N and Andreas W., with original tracks by Tamas Vilaghy, and editing assistance by Michael Woodson.

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: Gina Carano, The Ben Shapiro Show, 21st Feb 2021 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxObG659Sc0 Former President Trump speaks at CPAC, Fox News, 28th Feb 2021 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGDmMu9McBE Andrew Cuomo faces move by fellow Democrats to revoke his COVID-19 pandemic powers, The Wall Street Journal, Jimmy Vielkind, 2nd March 2021 https://www.wsj.com/articles/gov-andrew-cuomo-faces-growing-calls-from-new-york-democrats-to-resign-11614703042 Andrew Cuomo accused of making unwanted advances at wedding, New York Post, Elizabeth Rosner and Tamar Lapin, 1st March 2021 https://nypost.com/2021/03/01/gov-cuomo-accused-of-making-unwanted-advances-at-wedding/amp/?fbclid=IwAR3lm_8_WJYSNScBOpPWwVd2X-qXlcnQiNT83qK2qRb_MdV0aVz0uJesjZk Original tracks by Tamas Vilaghy Hosted by Sophia F. and Pamela N.

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 postmodernism http://chriscutrone.platypus1917.org/?p=955 Platypus Art & Politics syllabus https://platypus1917.org/2020/06/17/art-and-politics/ Brad Troemel, Patreon https://www.patreon.com/bst Barbra Kruger’s Selfridges campaign in London with Behance, https://www.behance.net/gallery/58329969/Selfridges-Co-Sale-campaign Ryan Long, 2020, When Wokes and Racists Actually Agree on Everything https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ev373c7wSRg Jason Farago, "The Arts Are in Crisis. Here’s How Biden Can Help," New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/13/arts/design/arts-stimulus-biden.html Susan Buck-Morss, response to Visual culture questionnaire (1996) https://platypus1917.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/buckmorss_visualcultquest.pdf Efraim Carlebach, “Forgetting Mark Fisher” Platypus Review 115 (April 2019) https://platypus1917.org/2019/04/01/forgetting-mark-fisher/ Original tracks by Tamas Vilaghy Hosted by Sophia F. and Pamela N.

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 Die 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 present his critique of political islam and his thoughts on the anti-imperialist left today. Finally, Frankfurt Platypus member, Jan Schroeder joins us to reflect on the trajectory of the anti-German Left, from its origins through its opposition to the Balkan Wars and support for American intervention in the Gulf, and their present iteration as defenders of “class politics”. Links: Brad Troemel’s Biden-Clinton meme https://www.instagram.com/p/CI3pSqUBevY/ Glenn Greewald, “Instagram is Using False “Fact-Checking” to Protect Joe Biden’s Crime Record From Criticisms” (December 2020) https://greenwald.substack.com/p/instagram-is-using-false-fact-checking Pamela C. Nogales C., “The Cancel Wars: The Legacy of the Cultural Turn in the Age of Trump” (Platypus Review, November 2020) https://platypus1917.org/2020/11/01/the-cancel-wars-the-legacy-of-the-cultural-turn-in-the-age-of-trump/ Laurie Rojas, “The Culture Wars in the Age of Trump” (Platypus Review, November 2020) https://platypus1917.org/2020/11/01/the-culture-wars-in-the-age-of-trump/ Der Funke, “Wien: Gegen Terror und nationale Einheit” (November 2020) https://derfunke.at/aktuelles/oesterreich/11526-wien-gegen-terror-und-nationale-einheit Marx 21, “Frankreich: Muslime unter Generalverdacht” (November 2020) https://www.marx21.de/frankreich-muslime-unter-generalverdacht/ Efraim Carlbach, “The Unchanging Core of Marxism: Interview with Ian Birchall” (Platypus Review, December 2017 – January 2018) https://platypus1917.org/2017/12/02/unchanging-core-marxism-interview-ian-birchall/ Spartacist League, “For Workers Revolution in Iran: Down with the Shah! Don’t Bow to Khomeini” (Workers’ Vanguard, December 1978) https://www.marxists.org/history/etol/newspape/workersvanguard/1978/0221_15_12_1978.pdf Michael Fischer, “Die neue Rassenlehre: Moderne Rassenideologie im antirassistischen Gewand” (Bahamas 85 / 2020) http://redaktion-bahamas.org/artikel/2020/85-die-neue-rassenlehre/ Jan Schroeder, “Althusser’s Marxism” (July–August 2019) https://platypus1917.org/2019/07/02/althussers-marxism/ Jan Gerber, panelist on the “Crisis Of Neoliberalism” panel at the Platypus German Conference (January 2020) (in German) https://archive.org/details/25.01crisisofneoliberalism/25.01+Crisis+of+Neoliberalism.mp3 SPS Reflections on the 2020 German Conference can be found here: https://soundcloud.com/platypus-affiliated-society/ep22 Hosted by Pamela N., Sophia F. with European Correspondent, Andreas W. music by Tamas Vilaghy

***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 Philadelphia: https://regenerationmag.org/beyond-the-vote-base-building-for-class-independence-in-philadelphia/ Hosted by Pamela C., Sophia F., with editing assistance by Michael W. Music by Tamas Vilaghy.

SPS Ep. 29: US Elections 2020 & EU Migrant Crisis 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, Returning to Marxism in the Age of Trump, 2020: https://platypus1917.org/2020/11/01/returning-to-marxism-in-the-age-of-trump-in-2020/ Hosted by Pamela N., & Sophia F., with editing help from Michael W. Music by Tamas Vilaghy

In this episode of SPS, Sophia and Pamela discuss the moral panic surrounding Netflix's new film, Cuties (2020), and take up the responses by Spiked Online and Jacobin magazine. Platypus members Marco Torres and David Faes join us to reflect on Polanski's critically-acclaimed J'Accuse (2019)and how it speaks to the present. In the final segment, Sophia interviews Jack Conrad from the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB). They consider how the 'Left' uses and abuses Karl Kautsky's legacy in order to avoid Kautsky's Marxism and discuss what the CPGB is up to. If you want to learn more about Platypus, and get involved, read the Platypus review, visit us on Facebook under the Platypus Affiliated Society or visit www.platypus1917.org. You can follow us on Instagram: ShitPlatypusSays, and on Twitter: @PlatypusSays. If you like the podcast, share it, rate it, and write us a review. Mentioned:
 (0) Theodor W. Adorno, "Sexual Taboos and the Law Today" (1963) https://platypus1917.org/wp-content/uploads/readings/adorno_sexualtaboostoday.pdf (1) Brendan O'Neill, Cuties Review
https://www.spiked-online.com/2020/09/15/in-defence-of-cuties/ (2) Eileen Jones, Cuties Review
https://www.jacobinmag.com/2020/09/cuties-scandal-netflix-controversy-french-movie 
(3) The Spartacist League on Polanski, “Stop the Puritan Witchhunt Against Roman Polanski!” printed in the Workers Vanguard, No. 192, 10 February 1978 https://www.icl-fi.org/english/wv/944/polanski.html
 (4) Platypus' 'Kautsky in the 21st Century' Panel (2020)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aL2TWNd1ntc (5) Communist Party of Great Britain's website https://communistparty.co.uk (6) The CPGB's Weekly Worker website https://weeklyworker.co.uk (7) The CPGB's Communist University 2020 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOkaFWQNpCTrQfT65UszE4A Hosted by Pamela C., Sophia F., with editing assistance by Michael Wood and music from Tamas Vilaghy.

Pamela Nogales, Sophia Freeman and Laurie Rojas discuss the call to cancel artist, Jon Rafman, and the revenge campaign led by the @surviving_the_artworld instagram account and break down the anti-sex and anti-art impulses of the culture industry. Pamela & Sophia sit down with Platypus members, Ethan Kaimana (U. Penn) and Will Lushbaugh, (San Francisco State), two organizers behind the recent panel, "Police Brutality and the Left," with speakers Andrea Pritchett (Berkley Copwatch), Conrad Cartmell (Democratic Socialists of America), Larry Holmes (Workers World Party) and Gerald Smith (a former member of the Black Panther Party and the Spartacist League and current member of the Oscar Grant committee). We listen to clips from the panel recording and give our impression of the conversation. In the last segment my co-host Sophia Freeman and talk with Joshua Citarella, an artist and cultural thinker whose books, Politigram & the Post-left (2018) and his most recent book 20 Interviews (2020)offer an in-depth survey of young political spaces online, including interviews with Zoomers that provide and insight into the trajectory of their political education. We sit down with Joshua to discuss what motivates his work and his critique of the millennial generation. Links: (1) Police Brutality and the Left, a panel discussion by the Platypus Affiliated Society https://youtu.be/jwf1_df6FiA In the wake of the killing of George Floyd by police, against the backdrop of the covid shutdown, protests have erupted in every state across America raising the issue of police brutality. The relationship of the Left to these protests, however, has been unclear. Following disappointment with the Bernie Sanders campaign and the nomination of Joe Biden, the Left has sought to politicize the protests and police brutality in different ways. How can the Left address police brutality today? How has it sought to do so in the past? What is the role of the Left in the current moment? (2) Joshua Citarella Find 20 Interviews: https://www.patreon.com/joshuacitarella - https://newmodels.io/proprietary/irony-politics-gen-z-2019-citarella - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/joshua-citarella/id1513817688?i=1000486940573

On this episode, Pamela and Sophia discuss the destruction of statues depicting American Revolutionary figures. Our members James Vaughn and Spencer Leonard join us to discuss the legacy of the American Revolution and the repercussions of the 1619 project. And Sophia catches up with Rory Hannigan and Clint Montgomery in light of our Summer Reading group on Kautsky’s Marxism. We reflect on Karl Kautsky as a leading figure in Second International Marxism and how it might be important to consider Kautsky today. If you want to learn more about Platypus, and get involved, read the Platypus review or join the American Revolution lectures online, 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) Trump’s address to the Young Conservatives of America: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jf8R3LTAarI (2) American Revolution Lecture Series: https://platypus1917.org/2020/06/06/the-legacy-of-the-american-revolution-a-platypus-lecture-series/ (3) Summer Reading Group on Kautsky’s Marxism: https://platypus1917.org/virtual/ Hosted by Pamela C., Sophia F., with editing assistance by Michael W.

This episode of SPS is a new members edition, featuring new members of the Platypus Affiliated Society in the United States, Germany and Denmark. In the first segment, Sophia and Pamela ring up Carson Wright, a new member at the Oregon State University chapter. We chat about Planet of the Humans, a new documentary produced by Michael Moore, which takes a harsh look at green technology and the pitfalls of the environmental left. We reflect on the technocratic impulses of the climate left today and discuss Carson’s recent interview with the environmental activist Derrick Jensen, published in the April issue of the Platypus Review. In the second segment, Sophia and Pamela chat with new members in Platypus chapters around the globe to ask them about their encounters with the Left before Platypus, their experience as new members and their thoughts on hosting the conversation on the left. This segment features Lisa Müller at Leipzig University in Germany; Rana Ürek at Columbia University in New York; Osiris Crutchfield at Virginia Commonwealth University; and Francisco Sánchez Acosta at Aarhus University in Denmark. If you want to learn more about Platypus, and get involved, read the Platypus review or join the American Revolution lectures online, 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 meme https://twitter.com/suavememestash/status/1262561790392664064/photo/1 (2) “The Left has never been against civilization”: An interview with Derrick Jensen, by Carson Wright and Andony Melathopoulos, for the Platypus Review #125 (April 2020) https://platypus1917.org/2020/04/02/the-left-has-never-been-against-civilization-an-interview-with-derrick-jensen/ (3)"What is Capitalism and Why Should We be Against It?" a panel hosted by the Aarhus chapter of the Platypus Affiliated Society on May 9th, 2020. Recording: https://youtu.be/UsQ1DqmyoqQ Hosted by Pamela C., Sophia F., with editing assistance by Michael W.

On this episode, Pamela and Sophia discuss the anti-quarantine protestors as the newly christened "deplorables" in the lead up to the presidential election, Brad Troemel's fake ad and the Biden campaign. Pamela interviews August Nimtz, Professor of political science at the University of Minnesota. Prof. Nimtz wrote a two volume book on Lenin’s electoral strategy from Marx and Engels through the Revolution of 1905 (vol. 1); & from 1907 to the October Revolution of 1917 (vol. 2). On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of Lenin’s birth, we discuss the electoral area in his political strategy. We talk about the end of the Bernie Sanders campaign and then the legacy of the 1930s Popular Front today. On the second half of the episode, Sophia Freeman sits with to the current president of Platypus, Efraim Carlebach, who takes stock of the decline of the sectarian left, of the small Trotskyist and Maoists groups, and the waning influence of the party turn of the 1970s. They reflect on whether or not the mission of Platypus has changed in 2020, thirteen years after the organization's founding. Feel free to send it your responses, questions, criticism -- we’d like to hear from you -- to shitplatypussays@gmail.com. From the Platypus Archives: - Prof. Nimtz was on our Convention virtual panel, "The American Revolution and the Left," April 2020. Video: https://youtu.be/FvlbLgjnczo - Efraim & Sophia's interview with Ian Birchall, December 2017, for the Platypus Review https://platypus1917.org/2017/12/02/unchanging-core-marxism-interview-ian-birchall/ Hosted by Pamela C., Sophia F., with editing assistance by Michael W.

Sh!t Platypus Says, special quarantine edition, comes in three parts: (1) Pamela talks to Platypus members about the left’s response to the Corona Virus. She talks to Laurie Rojas, Chris Cutrone & Stefan Hain to figure out just what, David Harvey, Naomi Klein, the Socialist Workers Party, U.S., Spiked online, and Žižek are saying in these times of Corona. (2) A record 3.3 million people filed claims for unemployment in the US last week. We hear from Wentai, our resident financial guru, to learn about how this pandemic is impacting the world economy. (3) In the last segment, Sophia sits down with Philip Cunliffe in London for a post-panel reflection on our "After the Election" panel at the London School of Economics: https://platypus1917.org/2020/01/29/after-the-election-whats-left-lse-29-1-20/ Philip is a political scientist and Senior Lecturer the University of Kent, he is also the founder of the Full Brexit: https://www.thefullbrexit.com/. They discuss the failure of “fully automated luxury communism” and the relationship between the Left and democracy. The Platypus Convention 2020 will be hosted online, next week on Thursday 04/02 to Sat. 04/04. The panels are: (Th:) Politics of Environmentalism as Utopia, (Fr:) The American Revolution and the Left, (Sat:) Bonapartism: How is the State Revolutionary? , (Sat:)Socialism in the 21st Century? Speakers include Christian Parenti, August Nimtz, Alex Gourevitch, Helena Rosenblatt, John Beacham, Chris Cutrone and yours truly. Viewers will be able to ask questions on the online platform. Links to each panel on the FB event: https://www.facebook.com/events/199797064708367/ Hosted by Sophia F. and Pamela N. Edited with the help of Michael W. e-mail: shitplatypussays@gmail.com

Pamela and Sophia discuss the recent episode of The Dig, a podcast from Jacobin magazine, featuring a roundtable discussion on the Bernie 2020 campaign and what a Sanders presidency would mean for the American left, including Jacobin founder Bhaskar Sunkara and assistant editor Alex Press. We play some clips, discuss, and ask some critical questions about the Democratic Socialists of America’s political strategy. On the second segment, we reflect on the first Platypus German Conference in Leipzig (January, 2020). Our members, Jim Kallenberg (Vienna) and two of the Leipzig organizers, Clint Montgomery and Henry Mitko, join us to discuss the crisis of Neoliberalism and the paralysis on the German left. Platypus German Conference Recordings: 01/24 Teach-In: Sexual Liberation by Stefan Hain https://archive.org/details/00downloadssr079ms1 Panel: Democracy and the left https://archive.org/details/demokratieunddielinke Panelists: Stefan Hain: Platypus Member | Prof. Dr. Klaus Dörre: Professor Work-, Industy- and Economic Sociology | Dennis Graemer: Association for the Design of History | Max Hauer: Member of translib Leipzig 01/25 Teach-In: What was the New Deal by Clint Montgomery https://archive.org/details/whatwasthenewdeal Panel: Crisis of Neoliberalism https://archive.org/details/25.01crisisofneoliberalism/25.01+Crisis+of+Neoliberalism.mp3 Panelists: Ingar Solty, Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftungs Speaker For Peace and Safety Politics, author & social scientist | P.D. Jan Gerber, guest professor for critical research of society at the Justus-Liebig- Universität Gießen | Stefan Bollinger, political scientist and historian | Annika Klose: Landesvorsitzende der Jusos Berlin, Mitglied der Grundwertekommission der SPD

On February 7, 2020, at Boston College, the Platypus Affiliated Society hosted a panel titled "Freedom in the Anthropocene". Description: The Dutch atmospheric chemist Paul Crutzen recently characterized the period marked by the start of the industrial revolution in the 18th Century to the present as a new geological epoch, the Anthropocene. This periodization is meant to capture a change in the history of the planet, namely that for the first time in history its course will be determined by the question of what humanity will become. The post Freedom in the Antropocene (Boston, 2/7/20) appeared first on Platypus .

A teach-in held by the Platypus Affiliated Society Manchester on the 30th of January 2020, explaining in basic terms what is meant by 'the dialectic', through Theodor W. Adorno's An Introduction to Dialectics. The post Teach-in: What the Bloody Hell is the ‘Dialectic’? (Manchester, UK) appeared first on Platypus .

A moderated panel discussion held January 29, 2020 at London School of Economics in the wake of the 2019 UK general election. Description: The movement around Jeremy Corbyn has been the centre of the British Left since 2015. A generation of activists have thrown themselves into the Labour party, some abandoning former organisations or anti-party (anarchist) political perspectives. But in the wake of the landslide victory of the Conservative Party in 2019, the goals of the Left seem unclear. It feels like we’ve been here before. How did we get to this point? How has the election changed the political arena? How should the Left relate to the Labour party going forward? Is the Left transforming Labour or is Labour transforming the Left? Is the goal of the Left socialism in the 21st century? If so, what is socialism and how can we achieve it? After the election, what's Left? The post After The Election: What’s Left? (LSE, 29/1/20) appeared first on Platypus .