Best Sam McManus Podcasts (2025)

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40. Pacific War Atrocities with Quin Cho 1:04:39

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14d ago1:04:39

1:04:39

In this episode of Hardtack, I discuss the atrocities of the Pacific War with guest Quin Cho, an archivist at Pacific Atrocities Education. We explore the historical context of the Pacific War, the significance of the Burma Campaign, and the radicalization of the Kwantung Army. Quin shares insights from his research and writing process, including h…

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Season 7 Episode 25: Jake Departure/Season Finale/Fun Shit 1:54:47

1M ago1:54:47

1:54:47

After a four-year run on the show, Producer Jake is saying goodbye. (Although presumably he'll be saying "hello" again on some future episodes as a guest.) One of his predecessors, Producer Cale, joins us to see the lad off. Jay Zeroni, who's never been a GTAA producer but is still a good guy, joins us in the postgame for patrons. We're having some…

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Season 7 Episode 24: Meagan Day vs. the Tradwives 1:23:27

2M ago1:23:27

1:23:27

Jacobin writer and editor Meagan Day joins us to talk about what reactionary "tradwife" influencers are latching onto, and how social democracy can actually help families in a way that ugly anti-feminist culture war can't. Before that, Ben does an Opening Argument on what the Epstein scandal says about our late capitalist hellscape. (No postgame to…

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Season 7 Episode 23: Norm Finkelstein & Matt McManus on John Stuart Mill 2:24:28

2M ago2:24:28

2:24:28

The crossover event the world has eagerly awaited is here (OK, well, some of us are excited)--Matt McManus and Stormin' Norman Finkelstein on the same podcast episode. As it turns out, they share an interest in John Stuart Mill, so we thought it might be interesting to explore that. Before that, Ben does an Opening Argument on Bret Stephens's absur…

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Season 7 Episode 22: Exploitation and Analytical Marxism (ft. Nicholas Vrousalis) 1:59:35

2M ago1:59:35

1:59:35

Nicholas Vrousalis, author of "Exploitation as Domination: What Makes Capitalism Unjust" joins Ben Burgis to talk about his book, how to rigorously think about capitalist exploitation, what it was like to work with G.A. Cohen in grad school, and more. Before that, Ben does an Opening Argument about the bizarro arguments of pro-Trump libertarians. I…

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Season 7 Episode 21: How Capitalism Ends (Bastille Day Special w/Steve Paxton) 1:49:48

2M ago1:49:48

1:49:48

Steve Paxton studied with the great Marxist philosopher G.A. Cohen as a graduate student at Oxford. Since then, he's had blue-collar jobs, white collar jobs, and been unemployed, but he's never stopped writing and thinking about socialism and Marxism. For this special Bastille Day episode, Ben Burgis talks with Steve about his book "How Capitalism …

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Season 7 Episode 20: We Have Always Had a Union (ft. Shaun Richman) 2:06:11

2M ago2:06:11

2:06:11

Labor scholar Shaun Richman joins us to talk to Ben Burgis about his book "We Always Had a Union: The New York Hotel Workers’ Union, 1912-1953." Before that, Ben does an Opening Argument on the absurd attacks on Zohran that have been made everywhere from National Review to Reason to...Matt Taibbi's Substack. (Goddamnit, Matt.) In the postgame for p…

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Season 7 Episode 19: Flowers for Marx 2:02:04

2M ago2:02:04

2:02:04

Two authors from the new anthology "Flowers for Marx" (returning guests Matt McManus & Conrad Hamilton) join Ben Burgis to chat about the book. Before that, Ben and the crew debunk more smears of Zohran. In the postgame for patrons, Matt puts in a shift joining us on our long march through Jordan Peterson vs. 20 atheists. Order Flowers for Marx: ht…

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Season 7 Episode 18: Michael O'Neill Burns & Matt McManus on Marx & Ideology 1:50:41

2M ago1:50:41

1:50:41

Philosophical and comedic YouTube person Michael O'Neill Burns comes on GTAA for the first time and political science professor Matt McManus comes on for the billionth time (rough approximation) so they can discuss Marx and ideology. Before that, Ben and the crew break down some of the worst pro-war talking points wrt Iran. In the postgame, we cont…

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Season 7 Episode 17: Another World is Possible (ft. Natasha Zapata) 2:18:10

3M ago2:18:10

2:18:10

Natasha Hakimi Zapata joins us to chat w/Ben about her important new book "Another World is Possible: Lessons for America from Around the Globe." From Britain's NHS to Singapore's publicly-leased housing system to New Zealand's egalitarian pensions to Norway's family policies, her book documents the way that countries around the world have proven t…

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Season 7 Episode 16: Citizen Marx 2:05:30

3M ago2:05:30

2:05:30

Bruno Leipold joins Ben Burgis to talk about his excellent book "Citizen Marx: Republicanism and the Formation of Karl Marx's Social and Political Thought." Before that, Ben does an Opening Argument responding to Jodi Dean on "neofeudalism." In the postgame for patrons, RM Brown joins Ben and the crew to break down some more of Jordan Peterson's bi…

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Season 7 Episode 15: Nathan Robinson on His Book w/Noam Chomsky (+ Jordan Peterson's Jubilee) 2:17:33

3M ago2:17:33

2:17:33

Current Affairs editor Nathan J. Robinson joins Ben Burgis to talk about his and Noam Chomsky's new book "The Myth of American Idealism: How U.S. Foreign Policy Endangers the World." In the postgame for patrons, Ben and the cre watch some of Jordan Peterson's Jubilee debate, in which Peterson realizes he can brilliantly defend his position by the 5…

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Season 7 Episode 14: Karl Marx in America (ft. Andrew Hartman) 1:57:26

4M ago1:57:26

1:57:26

Andrew Hartman joins Ben Burgis to talk about his fascinating book "Karl Marx in America," where he traces interest in Marx's ideas by American commentators from the Gilded Age to the Great Depression to the Vietnam-era New Left to the present. Before that, Ben does an Opening Argument responding to Ro Khanna on socialism. In the postgame for patro…

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Season 7 Episode 13: Eric Blanc on the Way Forward for Labor 1:06:31

5M ago1:06:31

1:06:31

Eric Blanc joins Ben Burgis to talk about his new book "How Worker-to-Worker Organizing Is Revitalizing Labor and Winning Big." Then in the postgame for patrons, Ben and the crew will watch a bit of Ethan Klein vs. Hassan Piker for some reason. Buy Eric's book: https://www.ucpress.edu/books/we-are-the-union/paper Read Eric's Substack: https://www.l…

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Season 7 Episode 12: Congressman Ro Khanna Gives Us An Argument 1:32:17

5M ago1:32:17

1:32:17

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) comes on to talk about the swirling chaos of Trump 2.0 and where Dems are falling short in response. Before that, Ben does an Opening Argument about why the Left should trumpet the fact that social democratic policies are objectively pro-natalist. Pressuring people to have kids is obviously illiberal and bad, but we should tak…

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Season 7 Episode 11: Talking Hegel w/Borna Radnik & Matt McManus 2:08:59

5M ago2:08:59

2:08:59

First-time GTAA guest Borna Radnik and frequent GTAA guest Matt McManus join Ben Burgis to chat about Borna's book "Freedom, in Context:Time, History, and Necessity in Hegel." Before that, in lieu of an Opening Argument and for the first time on YouTube, we'll play a talk Ben gave a while back called "Karl Marx Deserves Better Critics." ...and, las…

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39. From the Island to the Cape Part II with Jeff Ballard 41:54

5M ago41:54

41:54

Return with us this week as Jeff Ballard and I continue our journey in the Pacific Theater of World War II during 1942 and '43 . Here, Jeff and I look into the new naval tactics designed by Admiral Burke and explore the technological difficulties of American Naval firepower early in the war. Lastly, Jeff provides us with an overview of the importan…

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Season 7 Episode 10: Matt Bruenig & Luke Savage on "Abundance" 2:14:42

5M ago2:14:42

2:14:42

Matt Bruenig and Luke Savage join Ben Burgis to talk about their reviews of Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson's book, "Abundance," and what it all signifies about the drift of contemporary liberalism. Before that, Ben does an Opening Argument about why we should reject the false dichotomy of having to either support Donald Trump's "liberation day" insa…

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38. From the Island to the Cape Part I with Jeff Ballard 46:17

5M ago46:17

46:17

Visit the Pacific Theater of World War II during 1942 and '43 with Military Historian Jeff Ballard. Here, Jeff and I delve deep into an operational overview of the Pacific Theater, the Japanese response to American initiative after Midway, failures and successes in naval leadership, and new doctrine. Jeff Ballard holds a Master’s in Military Histor…

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Season 7 Episode 9: Songs to Revolt To 2:19:14

5M ago2:19:14

2:19:14

Jake and Andy are joined by Teen Driver’s Mark Gurarie to talk about protest music. Ben shows up for a bit at the beginning but then disappears because he has bad priorities and chose to spend his birthday with his "literal" family instead of his podcasting family. We're not sure what's wrong with him. Ticket link for the San Francisco live show on…

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Season 7 Episode 8: Debating Socialism w/the Libertarian Institute's Keith Knight 1:31:22

6M ago1:31:22

1:31:22

Ben Burgis faces off with the Libertarian Institute's managing editor Keith Knight in a wide-ranging debate about capitalism, socialism, coercion, authoritarianim, exploitation, and more. Follow Ben on Twitter: @BenBurgis Follow GTAA on Twitter: @Gtaa_Show Become a GTAA Patron and receive numerous benefits ranging from patron-exclusive postgames ev…

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Season 7 Episode 7: Debating Palestine w/Philosopher Spencer Case 2:05:15

6M ago2:05:15

2:05:15

Ben Burgis and philosophy professor and "Micro-Digressions" host Spencer Case hash out their disagreement on Zionism. Before that, Ben and the crew watch a fascinatingly strange AI video and Ben gives an Opening Argument on the Trump administration's authoritarianism, whether it's fascism, and why that even matters. Mean Djene Bajalan joins us for …

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Season 7 Episode 6: Watching Dugin & Glenn Greenwald w/Deep State Kuba 2:09:41

6M ago2:09:41

2:09:41

Far-right Russian thinker Aleksandr Dugin just sat down with Glenn Greenwald for an extensive interview, and we can't look away. Deep State Kuba joins Ben Burgis to watch some of it and discuss. Before that, Ben does an Opening Argument on the issues raised by the outrageous assault on free speech at Columbia. At the end of the main show, we play s…

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37. American Courage, American Carnage - Interview with Professor John McManus 1:03:50

7M ago1:03:50

1:03:50

In this episode we have a very special guest, Dr. John McManus. He is a military historian with 15 books published and holds the position of Professor of Military History at the Missouri University of Science and Technology. Some of his works include The Americans at D-Day: The American Experience at the Normandy Invasion, The Dead and Those about …

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Season 7 Episode 5: Conversations with Platypi (Ben & Jason at UC-Irvine) 4:36:52

7M ago4:36:52

4:36:52

A couple weeks ago, Ben Burgis and Jason Myles went to UC-Irvine to speak at a panel on neoliberalism at the West coast conference of the Platypus Affiliated Society. It was a pretty interesting conversation, and we're excited to finally be able to share it. Before that, Ben gives us an Opening Argument about Jeff Bezos's diktat the Washington Post…

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Season 7 Episode 4: Walter Block Calls for Legalizing Sexual Harassment & Privatizing Roads 2:30:58

7M ago2:30:58

2:30:58

Last week, Ben Burgis debated libertarian economist Walter Block. Tonight, we're playing you the recording. (The debate was hosted by the magazine Merion West, which will be simultaneously releasing it on their podcast.) This was a continuation of a written debate that started with Ben's article "The Case for Democratic Socialism": https://merionwe…

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Season 7 Episode 3: Vivek Chibber is Done with Your Nonsense 1:55:10

7M ago1:55:10

1:55:10

Vivek Chibber is an sociology professor at NYU, the editor the socialist journal Catalyst, and the host of Jacobin's new podcast "Confronting Capitalism." He's written a few books, including "The Class Matrix." Recently, a lot of the most unhinged people on Left Twitter got very mad at him for a "Confronting Capitalism" episode he did trying to ana…

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Season 7 Episode 2: Debating Abortion Rights w/Spencer Case 2:12:30

8M ago2:12:30

2:12:30

Philosophy professor and "Micro-Digressions" host Spencer Case joins Ben Burgis for a friendly debate on abortion rights. Before that, Ben talks about RFK's insane critique of Medicare for All. No postgame, sorry, but we'll make it up to our loyal patrons with a particularly awesome one next time! Check out Micro-Digressions: https://www.youtube.co…

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Season 7 Episode 1: The Gulf of Liberal Socialism (ft. Matt McManus) 2:08:46

8M ago2:08:46

2:08:46

A lot has happened since the last episode of GTAA. Trump renamed the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America (thus ending our long national nightmare of having to accept an "of Mexico" body of water touching our sacred American soil), and Matt McManus came to L.A., where he and Ben Burgis did a live event to discuss Matt's book on liberal socialism. Ben…

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Season 6 FINALE: Jordan Peterson Wrestles with God/Ben at MSNBC (ft. Matt McManus & Robert Myles) 2:24:52

9M ago2:24:52

2:24:52

In our last episode before this year's season break, Matt McManus & Robert Myles join Ben Burgis to break down Jordan Peterson's new book "We Who Wrestle with God." (He doesn't seem to have read any more Marx since 2019.) Before that, Ben and the crew take a look at Ben's article at MSNBC about Obama and the various responses it's provoked--a disda…

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Season 6 Episode 43: The World is on Fire But Mean Djene & Deep State Kuba Can Talk Us Through It 2:15:58

9M ago2:15:58

2:15:58

[Many apologies about the delay! Lots going on lately. The other delayed ep will be posted by the end of the week.] Jihadists are taking over Aleppo, US missiles are striking deep into Russia, and the atrocities in Gaza have reached the point that a *former Israeli Defense Minister* (and Likud Party member!) recently accused Netanyahu of "ethnic cl…

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36. Korean War: Battle of Bloody Ridge 32:04

10M ago32:04

32:04

American military intervention in Korea at the end of June 1950 began with a clearly defined and just goal in response to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) invasion of their sovereign rival below the 38th Parallel. U.S. President Harry S. Truman’s foreign policy goals in Southeast Asia, the defense of the Republic of Korea (ROK) an…

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Season 6 Episode 42: Matt McManus Talks Liberal Socialism 2:04:06

10M ago2:04:06

2:04:06

Ben Burgis welcomes back major friend of the pod Matt to talk his new book: "The Political Theory of Liberal Socialism," in which he "presents a comprehensive guide to the liberal socialist tradition, stretching from Mary Wollstonecraft and Thomas Paine through John Stuart Mill to Irving Howe, John Rawls, and Charles Mills." Buy the book here: http…

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Season 6 Episode 41: Vanessa Wills on Marx's Ethical Vision/Juan David Rojas on Kamala vs. Claudia 2:16:08

10M ago2:16:08

2:16:08

Juan David Rojas joins Ben Burgis at the top of the show to discuss the reasons Claudia Sheinbaum romped to victory as an economic populist in Mexico's presidential election a few months before Kamala Harris crashed and burned. (Some liberals would prefer to blame sexism for the latter, but the contrast makes that...a bit implausible!) After that V…

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Season 6 Episode 40: One of Us is the Killer (+ Preview of "Four Essays on Palestine" Launch Film) 56:05

10M ago56:05

56:05

By Ben Burgis

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Season 6 Episode 39: From Plato to Marx w/David Lay Williams 1:58:50

11M ago1:58:50

1:58:50

David Lay Williams comes on to talk about his excellent new book, "The Greatest of All Plagues: How Economic Inequality Shaped Political Thought from Plato to Marx." Order the book: https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691171975/the-greatest-of-all-plagues Read Ben's review of the book in Compact: https://www.compactmag.com/article/the-a…

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Season 6 Episode 38: Talking Palestine w/Deep State Kuba 2:35:06

11M ago2:35:06

2:35:06

Deep State Kuba joins Ben Burgis for a deep dive into the ongoing atrocities in Palestine--both debunking Zionist apologetics and pushing back against the dumb and counterproductive things leftists sometimes say in the name of Palestine solidarity and crafting a better and more effective message. Order Ben's pamphlet "Four Essays on Palestine" from…

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35. Yellow Journalism: Propaganda in American Expansion 24:08

11M ago24:08

24:08

Fueled by events that reflected Gilded Age American economic, cultural, and political interests in the preceding years, the presence and role of sensationalist styled news medium known as “yellow journalism” found its place into the fray and was woven into the fabric of America’s foreign affairs. “Yellow journalism” furthered American ambitions of …

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Season 6 Episode 37: The Catholic Left (and Also Some Protestants) 1:49:57

11M ago1:49:57

1:49:57

First-time guest Tony Annett and Matt "I Brought My Own Mic" McManus return for an in-depth look at thinkers like Alasdair McIntyre and Paul Tillich, the relationship between left-wing economic ideas and Catholic social teaching, and more. (Turns out that, while an adamant atheist when "in the streets" arguing about philosophy, Ben is "in the sheet…

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Season 6 Episode 36: Debunking the Many Bad Arguments Made By Israel’s Apologists in the West 1:46:12

12M ago1:46:12

1:46:12

On the one-year anniversary of Hamas's atrocities on October 7th, which have been used as a pretext for unfathomably worse atrocities for the last year, Ben Burgis does an on-air version of his lecture "Debunking the Many Bad Arguments Made By Israel’s Apologists in the West" which he gave as a teach-in at the encampment at Princeton last April, an…

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Season 6 Episode 35: Ukraine War Update w/Danny & Derek from American Prestige 1:39:58

12M ago1:39:58

1:39:58

We talk some Marxism, and then Daniel Bessner and Derek Davison of the American Prestige podcast join us to talk about their article "America Must Grapple With the Limits of Ukraine's Kursk Offensive": https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/america-must-grapple-limits-ukraines-kursk-offensive-212795 Order Ben's Palestine pamphlet: https://everyday-…

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Season 6 Episode 34: Inequality Debate w/Will Cooper/Anti-Haitian Racism from Yarvin to Trump 1:55:15

1y ago1:55:15

1:55:15

Will Cooper, op-ed columnist and author of "How America Works ... And Why It Doesn't," joins Ben Burgis for a friendly debate on how much economic inequality is too much. In an article for Newsweek, Cooper argued that America is much too unequal but he also said that: "And, importantly, there's nothing necessarily wrong with some people getting ric…

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Season 6 Episode 33: Norm Finkelstein on Robin DiAngelo/Matt McManus on Charlie Kirk 2:03:50

1y ago2:03:50

2:03:50

Stormin' Norman Finkelstein joins us in the first half of the show to talk to Ben Burgis about the rise and fall of Robin DiAngelo. Then for the second half we switch to examining the other side of the aisle with a conversation with Matt McManus about his very funny review of Charlie Kirk's latest....let's just say "book," "Right-Wing Revolution: H…

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Season 6 Episode 32: Debating Palestine w/Walter Block 2:19:21

1y ago2:19:21

2:19:21

Do Palestinians have the same rights as everyone else, or have they collectively forfeited these rights by being "criminals"? In an article for Merion West, libertarian economist Walter Block argued the latter: https://merionwest.com/2024/06/07/yes-to-a-palestinian-state-just-not-inside-or-right-next-to-israel/ Ben Burgis responded: https://merionw…

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Season 6 Episode 31: Mastering the Universe w/Rob Larson 2:24:01

1y ago2:24:01

2:24:01

The people's econ prof, Rob Larson, joins us to talk about his new book, "Mastering the Universe: The Obscene Wealth of the Ruling Class, What They Do With Their Money, and Why You Should Hate Them Even More." Before that, Ben and the crew talk about the highlights and the (sadly more numerous) lowlights of the DNC. In the postgame for patrons, the…

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Season 6 Episode 30: Is Kamala a Kammunist? Is Vance a Populist? (ft. Nathan J. Robinson) 1:56:37

1y ago1:56:37

1:56:37

Current Affairs editor Nathan J. Robinson joins us once again to talk about Peter Thiel's favorite "populist," J.D. Vance, the (sadly inaccurate) hysteria from Trump, Musk and the New York Post about Kamala Harris being to the left of Bernie and possibly even a revolutionary communist, and his "anti-socialist bingo" card. Before that, Ben and the c…

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Season 6 Episode 29: Lukacs and the Destruction of Reason 2:07:26

1y ago2:07:26

2:07:26

Matt McManus and Daniel Tutt join Ben Burgis to talk about Marxist theoretician Georg Lukács's analysis of right-wing thought in his book, "The Destruction of Reason." Preorder Ben's pamphlet "Four Essays on Palestine" from Everyday Analysis: https://everyday-analysis.sellfy.store/p/four-essays-on-palestine-by-ben-burgis-print-and-digital-edition/ …

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Season 6 Episode 28: We Have Bernie at Home (ft. Jason Myles) 2:37:00

1y ago2:37:00

2:37:00

This is Revolution host Jason Myles joined Ben Burgis and the GTAA crew to chat about his new essay "This is What You Want, This is What You Get," which uses the classic Eddie Murphy "We've got McDonalds at home" bit to talk about the election and the overall state of American politics at a moment when hope for anything substantially better than wh…

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Season 6 Episode 27: Understanding Capitalism w/Prof. Richard Wolff (+ RM Brown on the Election) 2:13:59

1y ago2:13:59

2:13:59

Prof. Richard Wolff came back on the show after a too-long absence to talk about his (as you'll see, apparently quite dangerous) new book "Understanding Capitalism." We talked with him him in the first hour and then our friend RM Brown came by to chat about the election in the second hour and into the postgame for patrons. Follow Prof. Wolff on Twi…

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Season 6 Episode 26: It's Good that Biden Dropped Out. But He Should Be on Trial at the Hague. 1:55:00

1y ago1:55:00

1:55:00

In the first half hour of the show, the GTAA crew takes a look at the insanity at the RNC and Biden dropping out. Then director Kavitha Chekuru chats with Ben about her very good but extremely disturbing Al Jazeera documentary, "The Night Won't End: Biden's War on Gaza." Watch the documentary here: The Night Won’t End: Biden’s War on Gaza Follow Ka…