Best David Caplans Podcasts (2025)

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12. The Little Match Girl: An Antifascist Rewrite 19:36

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1d ago19:36

19:36

Happy Solstice, Holiday, Christmas, Deep Winter, Chanukkah, Kwanzaa to you all. A familiar short story today, this time ending in revolution—not sentimentality. Notes: H.C. Andersen : The Little Match Girl (Hersholt translation) Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/AntifascistDadPodcast TikTok and YouTube: @antifascistdad You can still pre-order my …

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UNLOCK 10.1: Don't Talk About Politics w/ Sarah Stein Lubrano Part 2 31:55

4d ago31:55

31:55

In Part 2 of my conversation with Dr. Sarah Stein Lubrano, we move from the critique of debate and “critical thinking” into the deeper question: what actually radicalizes us? Sarah talks about the moments that changed her politics—teaching in prisons, supporting a student after sexual violence—and why no amount of abstract knowledge could have done…

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Jane Eisner, "Carole King: She Made the Earth Move" (Yale UP, 2025) 42:26

4d ago42:26

42:26

Jane Eisner is a widely published journalist who held leadership positions at the Philadelphia Inquirer and The Forward. She is the author of Taking Back the Vote. Eisner lives in New York City. In our wonderful interview we discuss her new book, Carole King: She Made the Earth, (Yale UP, 2025), and her thoughts on what made Carole King the start t…

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Max Brzezinski, "Under Pressure: A Song by David Bowie and Queen" (Duke UP, 2025) 59:04

6d ago59:04

59:04

In 1981, David Bowie and Queen both happened to be in Switzerland: They met and made "Under Pressure." Recorded on a lark, the song broke the path for subsequent pop anthems. In Under Pressure (Duke University Press, 2025), Max Brzezinski tells the classic track's story, charting the relationship between pop music, collective politics, and dominant…

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11. The Communism of Love w/ Richard Gilman-Opalsky 49:09

8d ago49:09

49:09

I asked communist philosopher and jazz drummer Richard Gilman-Opalsky a deceptively simple question: What do we actually mean when we say “love”? Richard’s "Communism of Love," insists that love is an active, non-exchange relation that contradicts the logic of capitalism. You can’t measure or spreadsheet it, or cost it out. Unfortunately, this fact…

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UNLOCK 9.1 Trans People Drive Fascists Bananas w/ Sara Rose Caplan pt 2 35:25

11d ago35:25

35:25

In part two, Sara and I open with the question Matt Walsh can’t stop weaponizing: “What is a woman?” Sara walks me through her one-woman show that answers Walsh by shifting the frame to a deceptively simple word—“chair.” Through a live game with the audience, she demonstrates how even basic terms are messy, negotiated, and context-bound, and how fa…

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10: Don't Talk About Politics w/ Sarah Stein Lubrano 42:00

15d ago42:00

42:00

What if the entire “marketplace of ideas” story about how people change their minds is mostly wrong? In this episode, I talk with political theorist and organizer Dr. Sarah Stein Lubrano about why debate, podcasts, and “critical thinking” rarely shift anyone’s core political commitments. Sarah and I dig into her book Don’t Talk About Politics: Chan…

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Renee Lapp Norris, "Opera Parody Songs of Blackface Minstrels (1844–1860)" (A-R Editions, 2025) 55:13

18d ago55:13

55:13

Minstrelsy is often called the first American popular entertainment form. Minstrel shows presented musical, dance, and entertainment styles that continue to resonate in US culture and they also reflected the complex, contradictory, deeply prejudiced attitudes towards race that characterized antebellum America, which are still part of American polit…

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Jibola Fagbamiye and Conor McCreery, "Fela: Music Is the Weapon" (Amistad Press, 2025) 1:25:00

19d ago1:25:00

1:25:00

A spectacular graphic novel about the life and times of the legendary Fela Kuti—the Pan-African frontman, multi-instrumentalist, sociopolitical powerhouse, and father of Afrobeat. In Fela: Music Is the Weapon (Amistad, 2025), artist Jibola Fagbamiye and writer Conor McCreery team up to tell the remarkable origin story of one of Nigeria’s most famou…

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9. Trans People Drive Fascists Bananas w/ Sara Rose Caplan 44:52

23d ago44:52

44:52

Donald Trump casually embraces the word “fascist” in front of Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, and doesn't bat an eye when Mamdani accuses him of funding genocide. This smug absorption of rhetorical confrontation is something we need to think about. On the same day Mamdani brought socialism discourse to the Oval Office, the Democratic leadership voted i…

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UNLOCK 7.1 Antifascist Father w/ David Inczauskis, S.J. Pt 2 40:35

27d ago40:35

40:35

In Part 2, David and I go deeper into the contradictions, tensions, and possibilities of the Catholic Church at this political moment. We discuss ideological purity, coalition building, critiques of capitalism, the role of synodality, and how leftists and religious radicals can meet each other in common struggle. What are the spiritual and emotiona…

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Marc Sommers, "We the Young Fighters: Pop Culture, Terror, and War in Sierra Leone" (U Georgia Press, 2023) 1:18:50

26d ago1:18:50

1:18:50

We the Young Fighters: Pop Culture, Terror, and War in Sierra Leone (U Georgia Press, 2023) by Dr. Marc Sommers is at once a history of a nation, the story of a war, and the saga of downtrodden young people and three pop culture superstars. Reggae idol Bob Marley, rap legend Tupac Shakur, and the John Rambo movie character all portrayed an upside-d…

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8: Antifascist Parenting: Depression/Hope-Whiplash 30:14

1M ago30:14

30:14

I posted a short reflection to TikTok last week, and it landed harder than I expected. It’s about the emotional double-life I believe many of us are living: one foot in the adult world of political vigilance and despair, and one foot in the child-world of curiosity, play, and care. Today I’m expanding that theme and pairing it with another challeng…

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Sharon White Rewires Disco 1:08:00

1M ago1:08:00

1:08:00

At the center of 1970s New York's most iconic clubs—from the celebrity-studded Studio 54 to the premiere lesbian discotheque Sahara—stood a queer Black woman on the turntables: Sharon White. With a sound she describes as "edgy, deep, aggressive, tech, synthy, percussive and lush," White became the first woman resident DJ at the Saint and the only w…

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SPECIAL EPISODE: Matthew Interviewed by Cory Johnston at Skeptical Leftist 1:34:39

1M ago1:34:39

1:34:39

Just a coupla antifascist Canadian dads having a chat about stuff. In this special crossover episode, I join Cory Johnston of the Skeptical Leftist podcast for a conversation about cult dynamics, fascism, antifascist parenting, masculinity, and how to support kids with empathy in a collapsing world. We talk about parenting in a political emergency,…

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UNLOCK 6.1 A Dare Wrapped in a Joke Wrapped in a Void w/ Cy Canterel Pt 2 36:56

1M ago36:56

36:56

In Part 2 of my conversation with Cy Canterel, we keep digging into how people form identity, belief, and belonging inside the swirl of irony, nihilism, and digital performance that defines so much of contemporary life. We explore the psychology of online radicalization—what actually pulls people toward fascist aesthetics, what ambivalence can teac…

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Michael Brown, "Eyeliner’s Buy Now" (Bloomsbury 2025) 1:02:44

1M ago1:02:44

1:02:44

Michael Brown undertakes a thorough study of Eyeliner's Eyeliner's Buy Now (Bloomsbury 2025) a vaporwave homage to the kitsch electronic sounds of the 1980s and 1990s. Eyeliner's BUY NOW (2015) belongs to a new genre for our times: vaporwave. Emerging in the early 2010s on the internet, vaporwave originated with a cohort of millennial artists who r…

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7. Antifascist Father w/ David Inczauskis, S.J. 49:46

1M ago49:46

49:46

I sit down with Jesuit priest and liberation theologian Father David Inczauskis, S.J., who has been helping lead faith-based protests at Chicago’s Broadview ICE Detention Center. We get into the lived meaning of community life, the risks and necessities of nonviolent resistance, and why liberation theology is suddenly back at the center of the glob…

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Lucy Caplan, "Dreaming in Ensemble: How Black Artists Transformed American Opera" (Harvard UP, 2025) 59:59

1M ago59:59

59:59

Recently, musicologists and others have started writing about Black participation in opera. Lucy Caplan’s Dreaming in Ensemble: How Black Artists Transformed American Opera (Harvard UP, 2025) is a major new publication on this topic. Caplan examines what she calls a Black operatic counterculture in the US dating from the performance of H. Lawrence …

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6. A Dare Wrapped in a Joke Wrapped in a Void w/ Cy Canterel 47:09

2M ago47:09

47:09

I sit down with feral scholar and TikTok analyst Cy Canterel to explore one of the strangest and most opaque zones of contemporary politics: the swirling online subcultures where memes, irony, nihilism, and fragmented identity collide with rising fascism. Cy brings a rare combination of systemic thinking, psychological insight, and lived experience…

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James Brown's War on Disco 1:01:26

1M ago1:01:26

1:01:26

In the penultimate episode of season 2 of Soundscapes NYC, hosts Ryan Purcell and Kristie Soares sit down with acclaimed historian Alice Echols, author of Hot Stuff: Disco and the Remaking of American Culture. Echols—who holds the Barbra Streisand Chair of Contemporary Gender Studies at the University of Southern California—unpacks how disco not on…

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UNLOCK 4.1 Courage in Resistance w/ Ben Case Pt 2 50:18

2M ago50:18

50:18

In Part 2 of our conversation, Ben Case and I move from frameworks to consequences. We revisit the 2017 Richard Spencer punch as a concrete case of “little” versus “big” violence, asking what deterrence, backlash, and dignity look like when an act becomes a meme and a cautionary tale at the same time. Ben draws on his Muay Thai career to talk about…

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5. Notes on Being a Man by Scott Galloway | A Review 1:18:02

2M ago1:18:02

1:18:02

Note: This review is also available on YouTube. How many wellness brofluencer podcasters does it take to screw in a lightbulb? Three: one to film it, one to sell the “ancestral light protocol,” and one to warn bulbs are “seed oils for your eyes.” In this longer solo episode I dig into Scott Galloway’s Notes on Being a Man (Simon & Schuster, publish…

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Springsteen’s "Nebraska" as a Political, Sonic, and Personal Document 1:00:59

2M ago1:00:59

1:00:59

It’s The Pop Culture Professors, and we consider Bruce Springsteen’s 1982 album Nebraska as personal and political document. With the release of the Nebraska 82 box set, and Deliver Me From Nowhere – about the making of the album – we take up the musical and social importance of Springsteen’s lo-fi lament. One of us has been listening to Nebraska f…

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Strings of Identity: The Horse-Head Fiddle and Mongolian Identity in China (with Ying Song) 37:05

2M ago37:05

37:05

In this episode, we trace how the horse-head fiddle has evolved in the People’s Republic of China — from a traditional steppe instrument to a cultural symbol reshaped through state representation and modern performance. We discuss how it is made, taught, and performed in China, how it is portrayed in Chinese institutions, and how young Mongols toda…

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Anand, "The Notbook of Kabir: Thinner than Water, Fiercer than Fire" (India Viking, 2025) 1:33:49

2M ago1:33:49

1:33:49

Kabir is the most alive of all dead poets. He is a fabric without stitches. No centres, no edges. Anand threads his way in. Over the years, as a publisher and editor, Anand immerses himself in the works of Babasaheb Ambedkar and other anticaste thinkers. He gives up his practice of music and poetry, blaming his disenchantment on caste. One day in D…

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UNLOCK 3.1 You Can’t Exile Antifascism w/ Mark Bray — Pt 2 36:45

2M ago36:45

36:45

Hello everyone! Part 2 opens with reflections on Mark’s balance between public scholarship and private parenting, then moves into his distinction between liberal history and fascist propaganda—the moment when sourcing gives way to myth. We discuss how protest slogans can be misread yet remain essential to antifascist diversity and vitality, and end…

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Cosima Clara Gillhammer, "Light on Darkness: The Untold Story of the Liturgy" (Reaktion Books, 2025) 1:12:24

2M ago1:12:24

1:12:24

With implications for the history of religion and art alike, an exploration of the lasting influence of Christian liturgy across a range of media. Light on Darkness: The Untold Story of the Liturgy (Reaktion Books, 2025) offers a captivating journey through the history of religious rituals in Western Europe, showcasing the profound impact of Christ…

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4. Courage in Resistance w/ Ben Case 51:32

2M ago51:32

51:32

Antifascist courage is a choreography of mutual aid, preparation, and care. In this episode I talk with scholar-organizer and retired Muay Thai fighter Ben Case, author of Street Rebellion: Resistance Beyond Violence and Nonviolence (2022), about how “physical courage” develops across a spectrum of practices — from speaking up for a co-worker and s…

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Disco's Revenge 59:02

2M ago59:02

59:02

In the wake of Disco Demolition Night in 1979—a cultural bonfire that seemed to signal the end of disco—something unexpected began to rise from Chicago’s underground. This episode traces the story of Frankie Knuckles, the Bronx-born DJ who became known as the “Godfather of House.” After the backlash against disco pushed the genre out of the mainstr…

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A Song for the Horses: Musical Heritage for More-than-Human Futures in Mongolia 1:03:34

2M ago1:03:34

1:03:34

As permafrost in Siberia continues to melt and the steppe in the Gobi turns to desert, people in Mongolia are faced with overlapping climate crises. Some nomadic herders describe climate change as the end of a world. They are quick to add that the world has ended before for Indigenous people in North Asia, as waves of colonialism have left the step…

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UNLOCK 2.1 Gaza Encampment w/ Sara Rasikh Fox Pt.2 25:33

2M ago25:33

25:33

Part 2 with Sara Rasik opens with my reflections on Part 1 (how UofT organizers timed the encampment to convocation, why student testimony was patronized as a “mental-health” issue) and on how movement memory travels from 1980s anti-apartheid organizing to Gen Z. Then Sara and I work through the hard stuff: “students should be studying,” “supportin…

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3. You Can't Exile Antifascism w/ Mark Bray 41:12

2M ago41:12

41:12

Mark Bray, historian of antifascism is now in exile, thanks to the backlash over Charlie Kirk’s murder and the Trump administration's accelerating attempts to label antifascists as terrorists. Bray, his partner and their two young children fled the US after the local Turning Point USA chapter posted a petition to have him fired from Rutgers, where …

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Greg Soden, "Unscripted Moments: Conversations with Propagandhi (2020-2025)" (Earth Island Books, 2025) 38:59

2M ago38:59

38:59

Propagandhi formed in 1986 in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, Canada and are now based in Winnipeg. Their outspoken influence and consistency in anti-fascist, animal-friendly, gay-positive, and pro-feminist ideas have inspired thousands of hardcore, thrash metal and punk rock music fans across four decades. Unscripted Moments: A Podcast About Propaga…