The Acid Left
Welcome to the Acid Left Podcast! The Acid Left aims to foster an awareness of social class and emancipatory politics through online and real-life events and happenings ... turn on, tune in, and shape a future collective reality.
Wed, January 01, 2025
How Left is Heavy Metal?: David Burke talks to Mike Watson and Bram E Gieben
Revol Press present a conversation and metal and the left. They will publish a compendium entitled What's Left of Metal? in late 2025. Editors: David Burke, Mike Watson Authors: Ben Burgis, Thomas Cardwell, Tee Coles, Chris DeMarcus, Holly Royle, Lars Lindemann, Daniel Lukes, Evan Martin-Casler, Ignacio Moreno Fluxà, Jason Myles, Alessandro Rolandi, Jen Sicka, Eric Smialek, Melissa Vincent, Clara Wanning
Fri, November 29, 2024
Is Liberal Socialism Achievable in These Hard Times:? With Matt McManus (Theorize and be Damned: Ep. 7)
Matt McManus talks to Bram E. Gieben on liberal Socialism in illiberal times. Matt's The Political Theory of Liberal Socialism is out now: https://www.routledge.com/The-Political-Theory-of-Liberal-Socialism/McManus/p/book/9781032647234 Support Revol Press at: https://www.revolpress.com/ And: https://www.patreon.com/c/revolpress
Thu, November 07, 2024
Is an Anti Capitalist Wellbeing Possible?: Mike Watson talks to Eliot Rosenstock (Theorize and be Damned: Ep. 6)
Mike Watson talks to Eliot Rosenstock about Addiction and Capitalism. Hosted by Bram E. Gieben. Buy Mike's book here: https://www.revolpress.com/hungry-ghosts-in-the-machine Theorize and be Damned is a Podcast of Revol Press. Revol Press Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/revolpress
Wed, August 28, 2024
Love, Magic and Capitalism with Rob Faure Walker (Theorize and be Damned: Ep. 5)
Mike Watson and Bram E. Gieben talk to Rob Faure Walker, author of Love and the Market: How to Recover from the Enlightenment and Survive the Current Crisis. Buy Love and the Market from Bristol University Press here: https://bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/love-and-the-market Pre-order Bram and Mike's books here: https://www.revolpress.com/ Follow Revol Press on Instagram: @revol_press About Rob Faure Walker Formerly a teacher in North and East London, Rob was drawn into politics as a teachers' union rep. He has since worked to oppose the Government's promotion of Islamophobia via the Prevent Counter Terrorism Strategy. A process described in his first book The Emergence of "Extremism" (Bloomsbury 2021). In recent years, he has worked at SOAS and at UCL to develop strategies to oppose the propagation of anti-intellectual faux-research by Government aligned think tanks. This has involved developing communications training for academics and designing communications strategies to deliver genuine academic research to Westminster. His latest book Love and the Market develops a post-Marxist 'loving critique' of the market economy. He now works as an ecotherapist, developing people's loving connection with nature as a way of healing us and nature from the multiple crises of modernity.
Fri, July 12, 2024
Adam Turl: Gothic Futurism -- Revolutionary Art and the Working Class (Theorize and be Damned: Ep.4)
Mike Watson and Bram Gieben interview Adam Turl, writer of the forthcoming Gothic Futurism: And the Working Class (2025, from Revol Press). See details on that book here: https://www.revolpress.com/gothic-futurism See Locus Review here: https://www.locustreview.com Support Revol Press at our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/revolpress Adam Turl is an artist and writer living in southern Illinois in the United States. They are an editor at Locust Review, a co-host of the Locust Radio podcast, and are working on an ongoing visual and conceptual art project, the Born Again Labor Museum, with their partner Tish Turl. They are a member of the Southern Illinois Democratic Socialists of America (SIDSA). In the 2010s, they were part of the editorial collective for Red Wedge Magazine.
Sun, June 16, 2024
Matt McManus: Right Wing Radicalism - It's Dangerous (Theorize and be Damned: Ep. 3)
We spoke to Matt McManus about the dangers of the Radical right wing, covering Trumpianism, Dostoyevsky, Nietzsche, and much more along the way. We also asked Matt about his writing process, gaining valuable insights into his approach. You can find his book The Political Right and Equality (Routledge) here: https://www.routledge.com/The-Political-Right-and-Equality-Turning-Back-the-Tide-of-Egalitarian-Modernity/McManus/p/book/9781032310831 Matt McManus is a Lecturer at the University of Michigan and the author of The Political Right and Equality (Routledge), The Rise of Post-Modern Conservatism, a How Too Guide to Cosmopolitan Socialism, amongst other books. Subscribe to our Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/104060602 Check out our books here: www.revolpress.com
Mon, May 20, 2024
Theorize and be Damned: Episode 2 -- Fisher, The Limit Experience & Online Culture w/Emma Stamm
We talk to Emma Stamm about Mark Fisher, the Limit Experience, Digital Capitalism, internet culture and more. Here are the links to the articles discussed: https://reallifemag.com/who-can-it-be-now/ https://social-epistemology.com/2022/04/18/curiosity-and-anti-economy-a-response-to-florian-jaton-emma-stamm/ http://www.ladeleuziana.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Stamm.pdf Subscribe to our Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/104060602Check out our books here: www.revolopress.com Emma Stamm is an Assistant Professor of Science and technology studies at Farmingdale State College-SUNY. Her fields are Critical Theory and Science and Technology Studies. Her research comprises integrative analyses of digitally mediated communication and psychedelic drug experience as catalysts of knowledge about human life.
Thu, April 25, 2024
Theorize and be Damned: Episode 1 -- The Darkest Timeline with Bram E. Gieben
Revol Books launch their Theorize and be Damned podcast with a chat with Bram E. Gieben about his forthcoming book The Darkest Timeline. Preorder Bram's book here: https://linktr.ee/thedarkesttimeline Subscribe to the Revol Press Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/revolpress Revol's Instagram: revol_press Portrait of Bram E. Gieben in thumbnail by Lucy Cheyne
Sun, November 14, 2021
Breaking the Spell of Capitalist Realism w/ Locust Review: Irrealist Praxis & Art
We talk with Adam and Tish Turl from the Locust Review quarterly. We discuss the founding and purpose of Locust Review, the theory of Critical Irrealism, and their ever-growing installation in The Born Again Labor Museum. Adam and Tish are longtime friends of the acid left so this is a fun episode filled with laughs. We also speculate what a left wing response to Q might be, talk fan fiction, share fever dreams and tips for agitating at the workplace. Support The Acid Left https://www.patreon.com/acidleft https://www.instagram.com/theacidleft https://m.facebook.com/theacidleft Locust Review https://www.locustreview.com/ Call For Submissions!! https://www.locustreview.com/editorial/locust-7-missing-days-call-for-submissions Outro Music by Made in 1985 https://madein1985.bandcamp.com/
Sun, October 17, 2021
Frankfurt School Today: #3 Max Ryynänen - Were Benjamin and Adorno too Bourgeois?
In the third in this series Mike Watson talks to Max Ryynänen asking if the Frankfurt School are too Bourgeois. Max is a tenured Professor at Aalto University in Helsinki and theorist of Aesthetics, where he focuses on excluded and outsider practices. He published On the Philosophy of Central European Art (2020), in which he proposes Nobrow art production as a response to the dichotomy between High and Low brow and the way in which the former co-opts the latter. You can preorder Mike Watson's The Memeing of Mark Fisher: How the Frankfurt School Foresaw Capitalist Realism -- https://www.waterstones.com/book/memeing-of-mark-fisher-the/mike-watson//9781789049336 Follow us: insta: @The Acid Left twitter: @acid_left patreon.com/acidleft
Sun, October 17, 2021
Frankfurt School Today: #4 Matt McManus - Is Existentialism Inherently Fascist?
In the fourth in this series Mike Watson talks to Matt McManus asking if Adorno's criticism of Existentialism in the 'Jargon of Authenticity' was fair. Matt McManus is a Professor of Law and Society at The University of Calgary. He is also the author of... The Rise of Post-Modern Conservatism (Palgrave), AND co author of What Is Post-Modern Conservatism?, Myth and Mayhem: A Leftist Critique of Jordan Peterson, both from Zero Books AND A Critical Legal Examination of Liberalism and Liberal Rights (Palgrave 2020). You can preorder Mike Watson's The Memeing of Mark Fisher: How the Frankfurt School Foresaw Capitalist Realism -- https://www.johnhuntpublishing.com/zer0-books/our-books/memeing-mark-fisher Follow us: insta: @The Acid Left twitter: @acid_left patreon.com/acidleft
Mon, September 13, 2021
Rick Roderick: The Father of the Online Left, with Marshall Roderick
The Acid Left talk to Marshall Roderick, son of Rick Roderick. As well as following up our campaign to get Roderick republished, we ask what the man was like, what he would have made of Biden and Trump, Lefttube and much more ! You can read Max Roderick's text on Rick Roderick here: http://rickroderick.org/max-roderick/ Subscribe to the Acid Left's Patreon: patreon.com/acidfleft You can find more from the Acid Left here: twitter: @theacidleft insta: @theacidleft facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theacidleft
Mon, August 30, 2021
Frankfurt School Today: #2 Douglas Kellner - Marcuse's Great Refusal
In the second in this series Mike Watson talks to Douglas Kellner, author of several books on Critical Theory including Herbert Marcuse and the Crisis of Marxism, Jean Baudrillard: From Marxism to Postmodernism and Beyond, and American Nightmare Donald Trump, Media Spectacle, and Authoritarian Populism. Martin Jay is George Kneller Chair in the Philosophy of Education at the University of California, Berkeley. In September Springer publish Kellner's Technology and Democracy: Toward A Critical Theory of Digital Technologies, Technopolitics, and Technocapitalism. You can preorder Mike Watson's The Memeing of Mark Fisher: How the Frankfurt School Foresaw Capitalist Realism -- https://www.waterstones.com/book/memeing-of-mark-fisher-the/mike-watson//9781789049336 Follow us: insta: @The Acid Left twitter: @acid_left patreon.com/acidleft
Sun, August 22, 2021
Frankfurt School Today: #1 Martin Jay - The Splinter in Your Eye
In this new series Mike Watson talks to Martin Jay, Historian of philosophy and author of several books on the Frankfurt School including the Dialectical Imagination and the recent essay collection Splinters in your Eye. Martin Jay is a professor at the University of California, Berkeley. Books and Essays Discussed: Martin Jay, Splinters in You Eye -- https://www.versobooks.com/books/3183-splinters-in-your-eye Martin Jay, Trump, Scorsese and the Frankfurt School's theory of the Racket Society -- https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/trump-scorsese-and-the-frankfurt-schools-theory-of-racket-society/ Mike Watson, The Memeing of Mark Fisher: How the Frankfurt School Foresaw Capitalist Realism -- https://www.waterstones.com/book/memeing-of-mark-fisher-the/mike-watson//9781789049336
Sun, August 15, 2021
Red Enlightenment with Graham Jones: Materialist Spirituality and Scientific Socialism
We talk to Graham Jones about his podcast Red Enlightenment hosted on Repeater Radio. Red Enlightenment is an 8 part series about science, socialism, and spirituality that draws influence from Spinoza and Marx to Michael Brooks and Mark Fisher while asking questions of metaphysics, ethics, and embodiment in order to move into a Materialist Spirituality. Contains remixes and samples from the following songs. Broke for Free- Lonely Organ Jose Konda- Golgotha Lobo Loco - Bioscope Dee Yan-Key - Go Down Moses, Moses Reprise Farad Farhangi - Animir Roman Havasi Marten Schellekens - The Little Match Girl Veena Kinhal - Haratanaya Sree Made in 1985- Imposter Syndrome Red Enlightenment https://www.repeater-radio.com/redenlightenment Shock Doctrine of the left https://politybooks.com/serieslanding/bookdetail/?isbn=9781509528547&subject_id=88 Graham's YouTube https://youtube.com/c/ASMRTheory Help Support The Acid Left https://www.patreon.com/acidleft IG https://www.instagram.com/theacidleft/?utm_medium=copy_link FB https://www.faceboom.com/theacidleft/
Sat, July 17, 2021
Seizing The Memes w/ Teenage Stepdad: Dropping Out of Art School, Pesky Algorithms, & Media Critique
The Acid Left talk to artist and meme maker Teenage Stepdad about his new show on Means TV called Seizing the Memes, his working process, politics, art school and the media... and boaner jokes! Teenage Stepdad is the person behind the hugely popular insta meme account @teenagestepdad featuring among the best produced memes on the internet most of which perform satirical critiques of popular brands and advertising tropes as well as the culture industry in general. Check out Seizing the Memes on means.tv and Teenage Stepdad's website at teenagestepdad.com Subscribe to the Acid Left's Patreon: patreon.com/acidfleft You can find more from the Acid Left here: twitter: @theacidleft insta: @theacidleft facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theacidleft
Fri, June 11, 2021
Clandestine Unit For Imaginary Research: Crisis in Colombia and The Molecular Revolution.
The Acid Left talk to Admin1 of the theory collective Clandestine Unit for Imaginary Research and curated meme page @cu_media_funhouse.exe. We discuss the ongoing protest in Colombia against tax hikes, state violence, and the government's handling of the worsening health crisis. We also discuss the disturbing conspiracy theory put forward by the right wing government of "Molecular Revolution" that denies the citizens of Colombia's collective rage by arguing that a foreign communist cabal is trying to undermine the government along with the ideas of Toni Negri, Deleuze, and Guattari. Admin1 recommends the following Instagram accounts if you are looking for more information on the protest in Colombia: https://instagram.com/redcondorcollective?utm_medium=copy_link https://instagram.com/redcritica?utm_medium=copy_link https://instagram.com/desinformemonos.colombia?utm_medium=copy_link The video contains memes from The Acid Left Instagram account, cu_media_funhouse.exe, pages from Preliminary Assemblages by CUIR, and the hashtag #colombiaprotesta Contains remixes of the following songs: Audiobinger- The Upside Down Sudartha Corsus- Let Go of Time El Remolon- Cumbia Bichera Ketsa- Deep Math Sea Dragon- Cuadrados Y Puntos Acid Left IG https://instagram.com/theacidleft?utm_medium=copy_link Admin1 IG https://instagram.com/cu_media_funhouse.exe?utm_medium=copy_link Preliminary Assemblages by Clandestine Unit for Imaginary Research https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-0zIJFvZVvYCXQegAAhVGleK6LKDAwWJ Help Support The Acid Left https://www.patreon.com/acidleft
Mon, May 31, 2021
Artin Salimi on Mark Fisher, Hip Hop, and Islamic Philosophy
Adam Ray Adkins talks to musician and YouTuber Artin Salimi on Mark Fisher, Marxism, Hip Hop, and Islamic Philosophy Sub to Artin Salimi: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpxTegQA3NUq9scE-XQJzww Support the Acid Left on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/acidleft facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theacidleft/ insta: @theacidleft Twitch: twitch.tv/theacidleft twitter: @acid_left
Wed, April 28, 2021
Art House Politics: Art vs. Content, Breadtube, Advertising, and Grassroots Organisation
The Acid Left's Mike Watson and Adam Ray Adkins speak to Art House Politics, artist and 'content' creator about memes, art, content, breatdube, politics online and much more.
Thu, March 04, 2021
Memestetica: a Conversation on Memes and Contemporary Art with Valentina Tanni
The Acid Left's Mike Watson speaks to Valentina Tanni, author of Memestetica, a book on meme culture and contemporary art and society, published in Italian by Nero Editions. https://www.neroeditions.com/product/memestetica/ Support the Acid Left on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/acidleft facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theacidleft/ insta: @theacidleft Twitch: twitch.tv/theacidleft
Fri, February 12, 2021
Is There no Nordic Alternative?: Welfare and Capitalism with Matt McManus and Tuomas Kuusniemi
We speak to author Matt McManus and Tuomas Kuusniemi on Nordic and Western welfare models, 'dignity', agency, gaming and art! Matt McManus a Professor of Politics, from Canada, is a Professor of Politics at Whitman College in the USA and has written several books including The Rise of Post-Modern Conservatism (Palgrave), What Is Postmodern Conservatism? from Zero Books and A Critical Legal Examination of Liberalism and Liberal Rights also from Palgrave. See recent text here on Jacobin: https://www.jacobinmag.com/2020/12/ni... Tuomas Kuusniemi is a candidate for Vasemmisto, a left of center party in Finland in the upcoming municipal elections in Oulu, in northern Finland. He is involved in YouTubing and twitch streaming on board gaming channels, and in a podcast called Punatulkut which offers ‘left perspectives on the world’. Tuomas's channels: Punatulkut: https://www.youtube.com/punatulkut My Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/muadmouse Support the Acid Left on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/acidleft facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theacidleft/ insta: @theacidleft Twitch: twitch.tv/theacidleft
Fri, January 08, 2021
Give them a Narrative - Ben Burgis on the Capitol Riots and the State of the Left Post Trump
We speak to author Ben Burgis on the importance of narratives from medicare for all, to Q Anon, to Vaush's so called 'Super Capitalism', and the Capitol protest. Ben Burgis is a philosophy professor at Georgia State University Perimeter College and the author of the best-selling "Give Them An Argument: Logic for the Left." MAY 2019 He's a weekly contributor to Jacobin Magazine and hosts the YouTube channel Ben Burgis: Give them an argument He was co author of Myth and Mayhem: A Leftist critique of Jordan Peterson that came out in April 2020 and 'Canceling Comedians While the World Burns: A Critique of the Contemporary Left' out on April 30th this year. Bens says buy his books here if you are in the US: https://redemmas.org/books This podcast is available on YouTube: https://youtu.be/VmKiqdBh9ak Support the Acid Left on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/acidleft facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theacidleft/ insta: @theacidleft Twitch: twitch.tv/theacidleft
Tue, November 17, 2020
Chilling at the Four Seasons Parking Lot: A Post Election Chat w/David Blacker and BigBreadBrainz
Post election special with David Blacker, Professor of Philosophy of Education and Legal Studies at the University of Delaware and author of 'What’s Left of the World' AND 'The Falling Rate of Learning and the Neoliberal Endgame' and YouTuber Big Bread Brain, who is a Cultural theorist, multimedia artist, and writer. David Blacker: https://www.johnhuntpublishing.com/zer0-books/authors/david-blacker BigBreadBrainz: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrhf3KPOvS4KPLcytvOAGiQ This podcast is now available on Soundcloud, where all future Acid Left podcasts will be found. Support the Acid Left on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/acidleft facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theacidleft/ insta: @theacidleft
Thu, October 22, 2020
'Murder Your Opinion': 'John the Duncan' on Laurence Fox, White Privilege and Celebrity Politicians
In this episode we are joined by John Duncan to discuss the anti-woke brigade in particular the UK actor turned right wing politician and bad singer Laurence Fox, whether it’s possible to address one’s own white privilege, celebrity politicians, human rights and neoliberalism, and the role of Scotland in the age of European Empire. John Duncan is studying a PhD at the School of Advanced Study at the University of London. His thesis is on the usefulness of human rights as a tool to mobilise collective action to challenge the neoliberal state. He also has a YouTube channel at JohntheDuncan where he makes videos covering leftist political issues. Born in Scotland, Duncan lives in London but has spent most of the covid lockdown in Scotland.
Wed, October 14, 2020
'Marx contra subjectivity': In Conversation with Conrad Hamilton
Mike Watson and Adam Ray Adkins talk to Conrad Hamilton about Tankies, the online left, Marx, Speculative Realism, and consent. Hamilton is co author of the books Myth and Mayhem: A Leftist Critique of Jordan Petserson and What is PostModern Conservatism. He recently finished writing his PhD thesis entitled Marx Contra Subjectivity under the supervision of Catherine Malabou at Paris VIII. You can find the Kapital Komrades facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/613646239225280 Support the Acid Left on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/acidleft facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theacidleft/ insta: @theacidleft
Wed, October 14, 2020
In conversation with Brian Francis Culkin: Healing the Wounds of Capital
Mike Watson and Adam Ray Adkins host Brian Francis Culkin. Brian is a writer and film director. He has written over 10 books and directed three films. His books include “On Heroin,” “Postscript on Boxing,” and “The Ayahuasca Dialogues”. He lives and works in the city of Iquitos in the Peruvian Amazon where he is involved in plant based diet healing throughhis center, The Way of the Twelve Plants: https://www.12plants.org/ Support the Acid Left on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/acidleft facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theacidleft/ insta: @theacidleft
Tue, October 13, 2020
With Joshua Citarella: 'Doomer' Joe Biden, Cardi B And The Decline Of The USA
In this episode of The Acid Left podcast hosts Mike Watson and Adam Ray Adkins talk to artist, meme producer and twitch streamer Joshua Citarella about memes, Cardi B's WAP, Ben Shapiro, Doomer Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. You can read more about Joshua Citarella here: http://joshuacitarella.com/ He streams here: https://www.twitch.tv/joshuacitarella His insta is: @Joshua Citarella Support the Acid Left on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/acidleft facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theacidleft/ insta: @theacidleft
Tue, October 13, 2020
From Zizek To LSD, Examining Mental Health With Eliot Rosenstock
Adam Ray Adkins and Mike Watson host Eliot Rosenstock, author of ''Zizek in the Clinic' for the first 'The Acid Left' Podcast. They speak about Zizek, LSD, Lacanian and Freudian analysis, Mark Fisher, mental health, and sobriety. Support the Acid Left on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/acidleft facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theacidleft/ insta: @theacidleft
Tue, October 13, 2020
Dr.James Cooke: Microdosing, Anarchism And Consciousness With A Neuroscientist
Mike Watson and Adam Ray Adkins host Dr. James Cooke, Neuroscientist, writer & speaker, who focuses on consciousness, meditation, psychedelic states, science and spirituality. You can see more about Dr. James Cooke's work here: https://www.drjamescooke.com/ Support the Acid Left on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/acidleft facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theacidleft/ insta: @theacidleft
Tue, October 13, 2020
Acid Left Vs Postmodern Conservatism With Matt McManus
Mike Watson, Adam Ray Adkins and Terry Tapp Host Matt McManus, author of The Rise of Post-Modern Conservatism (Palgrave). Matt is also co author of What Is Post-Modern Conservatism?, and Myth and Mayhem: A Leftist Critique of Jordan Peterson, both from Zero Books. Support the Acid Left on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/acidleft facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theacidleft/ insta: @theacidleft
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