Episodes
-
Episode 342 of RevolutionZ reconsiders how to evaluate success in our struggles against Trumpian fascism.
When someone asks how a protest went, what are we really measuring? Our feelings? Media coverage? Participation numbers? Or something more substantive? Being vague about what matters is our movement measurement problem.
This episode proposes four essential metrics that truly matter: Did our actions inspire continued involvement? Did we raise consciousness among those who witnessed our efforts? Did we grow commitment and strengthen the movement? And did we communicate to power-holders that we won't back down?
Via reflections on experiences during Vietnam War protests, the episode illustrates how unrealistic expectations can demoralize rather than empower. He offers practical suggestions for the upcoming July 17th demonstrations—from coordinated clothing colors to unified messaging—as possible ways to enhance movement solidarity and impact.
The episode goes beyond tactics to strategy including assessing the counterproductive dismissal of Trump supporters as simply "stupid," the strategic limitations of violence, and the false dichotomy between electoral work and direct action. The message is that diverse approaches can coexist within a unified framework if we judge each by its contribution to movement growth and effectiveness.
The episode moves beyond subjective feelings toward strategic thinking to advance progressive goals. The struggle against fascism, all kinds of inequity and injustice, and ecological collapse demands nothing less than our clearest thinking about what works, what doesn't, and how we measure the difference.Support the show
-
Episode 341 of RevolutionZ quotes: "The tradition of all dead generations weighs like a nightmare on the brains of the living" and with that claim from Marx asks whether today's movements should enrich the Marxist tradition as a viable and worthy heritage that only needs some modest contemporary refinements, or transcend it entirely as concepts and banners of dead generations that constrain our creativity.
Why this topic now? As political tensions mount and movements for fundamental change grow, young activists will be increasingly uged to take Marxist theory as their guiding framework. But do Marxist concepts provide the conceptual tools and organizational commitments we need to navigate current crises and in time create the revolutionized society most progressive movements desire?This episode highlights "economism" -- which privileging economic analysis while inadequately addressing gender, race, ecology, and political dimensions of social life -- and also Marxist class analysis which fails to recognize how managers, professionals, and other empowered employees monopolize empowering tasks and decision-making positions to form a distinct class between capital and labor which can also rise to ruling status and has done just that in all past Marxist revolutions. Do conceptual blindspots explain why Marxist revolutions consistently elevate a new ruling elite over workers rather than creating genuine classlessness, or is the cause perverse leadership or external opposition. The episode also takes on what is called dialectics, historical materialism, the labor theory of value, and Marxism's views of and more often absence of vision for a better society.
The episode asks, does immersing in and advocating the whole Marxist tradition support or subvert our collective endeavors? If it does the latter, as the episode argues, then what must we enrich or transcend to do better? If it does the former, contrary to my observations, okay, immerse, learn the lingo, and carry on, but correct me too, please.
The episode is provocative and controversial, perhaps even a bit funny here and there. It invites listeners to critically examine inherited theory and consider what conceptual tools we truly need to build a more just and participatory world. It proposes some answers and it also urges those who disagree to make known their views. Some will say the episode's claims are ahistorical, over dramatic, exaggerated, or even delusional or worst of all a reactionary attempt to disarm movements. Fine, if any of that is the case, it should be pretty easy to demonstrate. I hope those who think so will attempt to do so.Support the show
-
Missing episodes?
-
Episode 340 of RevolutionZ addresses the mass deportations that are tearing through communities across America, and and discusses the resistance is growing. In this revealing conversation. Jeff Crosby—a factory worker at General Electric, former union president, and longtime labor activist says "We need leaders more than legislators right now." ICE targets students, family members, neighbors, and workers with no criminal records. But why do some support this? Crosby describes how economic collapse in manufacturing cities created the conditions where immigrants became convenient scapegoats, even as immigrant businesses have revitalized once-abandoned downtowns.
He describes how an immigrant led coalition in Massachusetts has trained over 1,000 "verifiers" who document ICE activities, often causing agents to leave rather than be filmed while making deportations visible and helping prevent them through non-violent direct action. But Crosby warns this is just the beginning of what could become a much larger confrontation, comparing potential sanctuary actions to those used during the Vietnam War.Crosby challenges progressives to develop a vision that speaks to economic realities while refusing to compromise on racial justice, immigration rights, and other core values. "It's a race now," he explains. "Will the resistance get big enough or will Trump get entrenched?"
Crosby offers both a warning about where we might be headed and a roadmap for how ordinary people can effectively resist.Support the show
-
Episode 339 of RevolutionZ has as its Guest Lucy Hicks from the General Strike US project to share her insights on building a decentralized movement aimed at mobilizing millions Americans for a general strike to "transform our economic and political systems." We discuss the challenges and strategies involved in creating nationwide labor and social solidarity during increasingly mind numbingly disturbing political times.
General Strike US formed in 2022. It is currently focused on political education, building regional chapters (it has 37 so far), and growing a strong foundation. What have been its experiences to date? What lessons does it convey? Where is it headed?
In addition to conversing about this project, episode 339 addresses the experiences and current mindsets and inclinations of Generation Z's members including Lucy herself. Where are they at? How have the pandemic imposed school at home and isolation, restrictive and declining life options, and antagonistic social media involvements impacted their lives? What obstacles from loneliness and isolation to fear and alienation, among others, limited or advanced radical or reactionary inclinations and collective organizing?
How do Lucy and others approach the problem of moving from the currently largely narrowly individualist orientation of their peers to a collective response to their plight? As of now, over 340,000 Americans have signed their "strike commitment cards" pledging to participate when the time comes. Will that climb to millions and If so, by what path will it happen? How will young people who are angry and even outraged, scared and even desperate come together to propel a resistance that can defeat Trumpism and then continue on to win a fundamentally better society?
Support the show
-
Ep 338 of RevolutionZ seeks to speak to Bruce Springsteen in light of his recent warranted and eloquent outcry against Trump and Trump's retaliatory threats, and also to Bobby Dylan, a Master of Words, with his own words, and, well, to anyone who would like to relate to these times in light of past and future times. Authoritarianism, military spectacle, and resistance. How do we survive is one sensible question. How do we overcome is a still better question. Is our time to us worth saving?
This episode offers some of Dylan's words as both mirror and motivation. You've heard them? You haven't heard them? If I can recite them in turmoil and thanks after a million hearings, perhaps you can hear them usefully, even again, too. Can we crawl out our window? Can we know our song well before we start singing? Can we dance on the graves of war-makers? Is it alright ma? Is hard rain falling already? Can we tell it and think it and speak it and breathe it, and reflect it from the mountains so all souls can see it? And can we avoid becoming puppets repelling who we ought to be hearing?
Revisit or discover some of Dylan's lyrics here. For words, music, and voice, perhaps start with the trilogy that changed everything: "Bringing It All Back Home," "Highway 61 Revisited," and "Blonde on Blonde," or earlier or later. I hope his words can do for you what they do for me: help fuel your resistance and enflame your desires to make real your own chimes of freedom.Support the show
-
Ep 337 of RevolutionZ displays connections between Netanyahu's vicious brutality and Trump's cruel authoritarianism. It examines the psychological mechanisms that enable or oppose both by discussing the need to maintain humanity while confronting inhumanity. "Can we hate the acts yet somehow recognize that those involved are people like us?" From snipers targeting children in Gaza to the creeping normalization of fascist cruelty in America, we witness power that "corrupts, coerces, incarcerates, kidnaps and, increasingly, murders." Yet resistance movements continue to grow to put "steadily growing pressure on elites of all kinds."
The episode dissects the three phony rationales that prop up both Trumpism and Netanyahu's policies: protect "meritocracy," promote "efficiency," and fight "anti-Semitism." Each concept has been grotesquely perverted to justify oppression. Under the accompanying twisted logic, "merit" comes to mean conformity to power, "efficiency" comes to mean advancing elite interests regardless of human cost, and "anti-Semitism" is weaponized against critics of Zionism while actual Nazi sympathizers receive embraces. The real agenda—to establish one-man rule and enhance profit and power of the already rich and powerful—stands nakedly visible for anyone willing to see.
This episode also warns of the confusion many will experience when Trump claims victories and occasionally even implements policies with positive elements. The challenge will be to recognize that even as some battles appear to end, the war against fascism must continue. The episode argues that we all need to join the growing resistance—because Trump's and Netanyahu's only real strength is our submission.Support the show
-
Episode 336 of RevolutionZ takes up issues of education as it is, as it should be, and how to go from the former to the latter. Trump, Vance, and their allies know that truth and critical thinking threaten their power. That's why they're launching unprecedented attacks on education—they want compliant, uncritical citizens who will accept authoritarianism without question.
Current education? Among other aults, our schools track students into predetermined social roles: roughly 2% owners, 20% coordinators (managers, professionals), and 80% workers. This is a deliberate system to prepare each group for their designated place in society's hierarchies.
The elite response to the Sixties? The Carnegie Commission concluded there was "too much education" in the 1960s? Students had been educated to expect dignity and agency. We widely rebelled when those expectations were crushed. The mainstream's solution? Reduce educational quality and access for most people while preserving elite pathways for the few—a trend Trump seeks to finalize.
But another educational world is possible. Schools could develop each person's full potential while fostering solidarity, equity, and self-management. This episode further explores these possibilities and proposes steps for both higher education and K-12 institutions such as to establish worker-student councils, create fair compensation systems, and transform curricula to empower all participants. Such changes would not only improve current conditions but build momentum toward fundamental transformation.
The battle for education is ultimately about what kind of humans—and what kind of society—we wish to become. Visit 4liberation.org to explore the 20 Theses for Liberation which this episode jumps off from. Don't we all need to join a movement to reclaim education as a liberating force in our struggle against fascism and for a just world. What educational future will you help create?Support the show
-
Episode 335 of RevolutionZ notes that when millions took to the streets after Trump's first election victory, a crucial question arose: "What can people do next?" and how can they connect with it? The new All of Us Directory (at allofusdirectory.org) creates easy means for everyday people and seasoned activists like to connect with grassroots organizations where they can exercise their collective power.
Longtime community activist Cynthia Peters shares with RevolutionZ the vision behind this searchable database of grassroots organizations that she and other conveners including myself have recently created to assist resistance to Trump and beyond. Peters shares compelling stories from her years of organizing tenant associations in Boston. She describes how tenants shift from isolated individuals with their only option being to beg landlords for concessions to unified groups capable of wielding real power as in a tenant association that stands together to prevent eviction of one of their members, even when the landlord had legal grounds, demonstrating how collective power can overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles.
From the directory project discussion that addresses the challenges now facing nonprofit organizations, the tensions between preservation and growth, and how fear of repression can lead to self-censorship Peters describes the discipline required for effective organizing while acknowledging the necessity of creating spaces where people can make mistakes and grow together.
Throughout this discussion runs a powerful optimism—not naive optimism, but informed hope grounded in concrete experiences of what people can accomplish when they organize effectively. As Peters puts it, using a powerful metaphor from a kayaking experience: sometimes we need to "paddle as if our lives depend on it," and we're much more likely to succeed when we paddle together.
So please visit allofusdirectory.org to find organizations and projects you might wish to work with. Search among hundreds of options filtering to find those that match your location, issues you care about, and the kinds of work you would like to contribute. And then tell others about it! This is the first public mention of the option. Help it along. As Peters notes, our future depends not just on what "someone else" might do, but on what all of us do together.Support the show
-
Episode 334 of RevolutionZ assess three reactions to Trumpism, their causes, their effects, and their lessons for activism. The episode gets personal and in-depth to make a case that collective resistance that envisions positive change rather than mere survival can transform these "worst of times" into the "best of times," and to indicate some features it might involve.
The three reactions to Trumpism the episode considers are first passive accommodation like some students and faculty obeying their Trustees, like some lawyers obeying their bosses, like some non-profits self censoring their web sites and budgets, and like some householders bemoaning but not fighting Trumpism; second, active collaboration like some university trustees bowing to Trump, some law firm partners kissing Trump's ring, some elected officials marching with Trump in violent array, and I guess the Proud Boys too; and then, third, there is resistance, growing and diversifying.
Accommodation often reflects fear and exhaustion, but it also and perhaps mainly rests on beliefs that fighting corporate and political power is futile and in any event even if it won some change the gains would lead back to similar problems. Accommodation, afflicting tens of millions, can and must be respectfully overcome. In contrast, collaborators actively enable Trump's agenda despite and even due to knowing its effects. They lack empathy for those harmed. Collaboration must be overrun. Finally, to be really effective, resistance must not just oppose Trump but offer positive alternatives that can inspire sustained involvement. Resistance wins by raising costs to elites until they abandon their agenda. Movements can accomplish that when they connect specific struggles to broader solidarity. Before signing off the episode indicates various program-like steps that resistance can continue unfolding, refine, and augment but then the episode raises a troubling concern. Where are the young people in this movement--not a relative few but a great many? Hopefully they are meeting, talking, practicing, and preparing to explode onto the scene soon.
Support the show
-
Episode 333 of RevolutionZ addresses the question is there anything worth seeking beyond existing economics and in particular modes of allocation? It goes into some depth revealing the horrible intrinsic ills of markets and central planning. For example, it discusses how markets and central planning both yield top-down decision-making and a corporate division of labor and a coordinator class above workers. It shows how central planning is and induces further authoritarianism and how markets reward output and bargaining power while forcing antisocial competition. IT traces how even initially egalitarian workplaces under market pressure eventually recreate class divisions. It moves from critique to advocacy to discuss how participatory planning involves workers and consumers in cooperatively determining production through councils, in enjoying income based on duration, intensity, and onerousness of socially valued labor, and enjoying conditions where my well-being becomes a condition of your well-being and vice versa. The unifying message of the episode is that while immediate struggles against authoritarian threats and to stop Trump are essential, developing positive vision is also crucial to sustain motivation and avoid a return to the flawed pre-crisis status quo.
The episode also discusses the difficulty of advocating such a vision over the past few decades and seeks help in doing better.Support the show
-
Episode 332 of RevolutionZ has Hunter Dunn of Southern Cal 50501 as guest to share insight from his experiences with organizing the massive Southern Cal Unites protest in downtown LA, as part of the nationwide April 5th demonstrations against the Trump Administration. Hunter is a Senior at Pepperdine University and our conversation went beyond reporting April 5th tactics, scale, and mechanics to discuss the many factors shaping youth political engagement. Dunn explained how Gen Z members are pulled toward right wing involvement including talking about how right wing influencers and Trump as well as social media algorithms appeal to Gen Z economic despair at their future prospects and social awkwardness and loneliness, particularly among men even as other Gen Z youth are shifting toward progressive solidarity.
Dunn relays how the loudest cheers at the demonstrations weren't just for opposition to Trump, but for bold proposals like universal healthcare, ranked choice voting, and meaningful climate action. He reports that the events revealed not just a growing resistance but growing positive commitment. Americans aren't merely fighting against something, reports Dunn from his campus, an historically conservative one at that, they're fighting for a fundamentally different future.
Dunn provides concrete ways to get involved because, as Dunn reminds us, "this isn't just about stopping one administration - it's about creating a society that works for everyone."Support the show
-
Episode 331 of RevolutionZ has as guest long-time labor organizer Stephen Lerner to provide strategic clarity and emotive urgency about our current situation.
Lerner describes a coordinated assault by "billionaires, the fossil fuel industry, and Silicon Valley" to "dominate every aspect of the country." Make public institutions "broke on purpose, "deliberately underfund vital services, and finally privatize them.
Lerner argues that in addition to protesting government buildings we need to target the economic interests of billionaires bankrolling authoritarianism. From pension fund divestment to strategic disruption of luxury resorts and businesses, Lerner urges imposing real costs on those who drive inequality. Seek multi union and constituency alliances.
Lerner also addresses the paralyzing fear that now prevails. As universities, law firms, and even some unions quickly cave to political pressure, Lerner emphasizes that "to be driven by fear means to give up." He calls for "heroic moments" to inspire others to move "from fear to bravery." And crucially, he warns against fighting merely to return to pre-Trump conditions. He urges the need for positive vision of better.
Trump, Musk, and their buddies? For Lerner "These are flawed, billionaire, whiny clowns, and if we get our act together, we will win something much better than the past."Support the show
-
Episode 330 of RevolutionZ confronts the growing threat of fascism by examining what constitutes genuine resistance versus complicity or apathy.
The episode says we face three choices: bow and scrape to fascism, ignore what's happening, or stand and fight. University presidents and private law firms that collaborate with authoritarian demands represent profiles in cowardice. They bow and scrape. Anyone looking around and saying oh no, but who then does nothing more, ignores reality. But students can stand and fight by speaking up in classrooms, dining halls, and dorms to build campus movements that protest and disobey. Workers facing MAGA-aligned employers can stand and fight through solidarity, refusal to comply, and collective action."Stand and fight" isn't just a rallying cry—it's our only viable path to stop fascism. Episode 330 examines what meaningful opposition looks like. It dismantles the temptations to submit or ignore what's happening, and instead provides practical examples of how resistance can take shape on college campuses, in workplaces, and throughout communities.
More, it urges that resistance must go beyond simply defending against Trump's agenda. To sustain itself and ultimately succeed, resistance must simultaneously plant seeds for a better future that addresses the fundamental flaws that led to our current crisis. This dual approach of defense plus offense can not only energize supporters but potentially reach Trump voters who begin to recognize their interests align more with progressive than reactionary change.
The episode concludes by examining three crucial warnings: don't attack attention to trans, race, and gender issues, don't create divisions between defensive and transformative activists, and most importantly, don't succumb to fear. Don't surrender disobey. Realize that nobody is going to win this by themselves. Realize that through collective action and persistent disobedience, we can not only defeat fascism but build something better in its place.Support the show
-
Episode 329 of RevolutionZ tackles the issue of reform versus revolution in context of the growing resistance to Trumpism and fascism in America. The episode recounts hopeful signs of resistance building across campuses, unions, and communities. But with this surge may come a familiar challenge: will those seeking immediate reforms and those advocating for revolutionary change work together or in opposition?
The episode distinguishes between reforms (specific policy changes) and revolution (transforming underlying institutions). It navigates the concerns of both camps: revolutionaries who fear reforms merely accept the existing system, and reformists who see revolutionary rhetoric as distracting from achievable goals.
To those who advocate revolution, the episode proposes that fundamental change may be the ultimate goal, but stopping fascism requires coalition with those who find revolution unrealistic. To those who favor only ws reforms, he suggests that resistance benefits from both defensive tactics and positive aspirations that extend beyond single campaigns. Let's try to immediate struggles that reduce suffering while building toward additional possibilities.
The episode offers that "Reformism that ignores anything beyond immediate campaigns is counterproductive. But reforms are essential," And that "revolutionary commitment that ignores the importance of winning reforms and denies existing reality are also counterproductive." For the most powerful resistance can we combine practical action with visionary thinking, immediate defense with long-term commitment.
So how will we engage in resistance? Whether through campus organizing, union solidarity, immigrant protection, or public demonstrations, shouldn't we pursue immediate justice while keeping our eyes on more fundamental transformations that might follow so we don't only go back to the status quo that birthed Trump in the first place?Support the show
-
Episode 328 of RevolutionZ has as guest Yves Engler, a Canadian writer and political activist who shares his experience of being recently jailed for criticizing a pro-genocide influencer online and facing subsequent charges for "harassing the police" when he publicized his case. We discuss the growing criminalization of pro-Palestinian speech and the importance of solidarity in fighting back against repression.
Engler describes growing Canadian support for Palestine activism including how students at universities like Concordia have voted overwhelmingly for BDS resolutions while university administrations remain aligned with pro-Israel donorsWe discuss the challenge of maintaining activism when results aren't immediate and in light of family and other responsibilities, doubts about winning, and other obstacles to activism.
Engler also describes how Canadian nationalism has been inflamed by Trump's recent tariff threats and we consider Trump's possible motives as well as differences and parallels between repression in Canada and the United States. and mainly how to successfully counter each.
Support the show
-
Episode 327 of RevolutionZ takes up the question, can nine different post-capitalist economic visions find common ground in a single unifying framework?
Rather than viewing Mainstream Marxist Economy, Councilist Marxist Economy, Anarchist Economy, Solidarity Economy, Green Economy, Degrowth Economy, Feminist Economy, Intercommunalist Economy, and Anti-authoritarian Economy as competing frameworks, what if we highlight their essential virtues to identify areas of compatibility?
At the heart of this unification project lies Participatory Economics—a vision featuring a productive commons instead of private ownership, self-managing councils intest of top down authority, balanced job complexes instead of a corporate division of labor, equitable remuneration instead of profit seeking exploitation, and participatory planning instead of markets or central planning. Can this tenth perspective satisfy the core demands of the nine other approaches while violating none of their essential principles?
Each perspective contributes vital elements to a comprehensive economic vision: from eliminating capitalist class domination and preventing coordinator class rule to ensuring environmental sustainability, fostering solidarity, and preventing systemic disadvantages based on identity or community. What emerges is a synthesis that strengthens rather than dilutes each perspective's most valuable insights.
For activists and thinkers seeking both a defensive strategy against authoritarian capitalism and a positive vision ultimately win, does this synthesis offer a promising path forward? Can the left unite behind a shared economic vision that honors its diverse traditions while providing practical, revolutionary alternatives? That is our focus and challenge this episode.Support the show
-
Ep 326 of RevolutionZ discusses Trump's unique role in contemporary politics, the problems of a purely defensive strategy, and enlarging resistance activism including reaching Trump voters. It proposes seeking a wealth tax, living wage, labor reforms, free quality education, day care, and health care, positive immigration reform, and various electoral, social, and environmental reforms as positive program to augment defending against Trumpian reactionary attacks. It highlights the role of media and communication--their's and our's-- and emphasizes throughout the need to get beyond just preventing calamity.
Support the show
-
Episode 325 of RevolutionZ has as its guest the novelist and activist Rivera Sun. We discuss nonviolent resistance as a strategy to combat rising authoritarianism in the U.S. and around the world. The episode reviews the historical effectiveness of nonviolent movements worldwide, the essentials of winning campaigns, the importance of active civil disobedience and of positively engaging allies, the importance of narratives to movement communication and much more regarding organizing and activism, plus some discussion the efficacy and complexity of writing fiction.
Support the show
-
Episode 324 of RevolutionZ gets personal, a bit strange, I hope a bit humorous, perhaps even a bit helpful. After over six years of episodes, I subject myself as interviewee to myself as a very aggressive interviewer, much more aggressive and even abrasive, than I have been with anyone else. I pounce on me as guest. I challenge me about my motivations. I ask how I navigate the interplay of confidence and ignorance to discuss a wide range of topics that often go beyond what I have studied. Is it arrogance? Or what? I ask me how I select guests? How I choose topics? What's the balance between expertise, willingness to engage in unfamiliar conversations, and the importance of examining diverse non-expert perspectives? To get still more personal, I ask me rapid-fire questions meant to reveal my personal preferences from favorite athletes, scientists, movies, and writers to whimsical but purportedly revealing queries inspired by Colbert's questionnaire. I then even reflect on this episode's content when asked if I ever wonder why I did what I did. And so on looking behind the curtain. I will be curious to hear, I hope, whether anyone is horrified, amused, or edified, by this episode's approach and content.
Support the show
-
Episode 323 of RevolutionZ has as guest Steve Early who discusses the vital role of the labor movement in the days of Trump. What is going on at work and in unions now? What are union organizers emphasizing? What might we expect from and contribute to worker activism in coming months? To address these matters, Early discusses coalitions between unions and veteran organizations, strategies against privatization, reaching out to attract and involve new union members, independent political action and working-class candidates, forging solidarity between public and private sector unions, integrating climate issues into labor activism, nurturing solidarity across diverse worker demographics, and more. At a time when some feel labor is lost, early shows it is not only not lost but on the move and pivotal to winning against Trump and then for positive change.
Support the show
- Show more
