Episodes

Edward Ongweso Jr. and Jacob Silverman on cryptocurrency, NFTs, Elon Musk, the metaverse, meme stocks, and techno-utopianism amid the crushing reality of our neoliberal hellscape. The first in a two-episode series on crypto. Read Dan’s new essay on border control politics: nplusonemag.com/online-only/online-only/border-crises/ Support The Dig at Patreon.com/TheDig

How neoliberal conditions create popular constituencies, ideologies, and subjectivities among poor and working-class people for a violent, mean, and repressive neoliberalism—and how those reactionary politics from below converge with those generated from above. Political theorist Rodrigo Nunes analyzes Bolsonarismo (the ideology and politics surrounding far-right Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro) and far-right politics everywhere. Read Rodrigo’s essays: radicalphilosophy.com/article/of-what-...

Bolsonaro is presiding over mass COVID deaths and the destruction of the Amazon. Lula is free and polling way ahead for next year’s presidential election. But the conditions that brought the far-right to power remain in place. Sociologist Sabrina Fernandes and historian Andre Pagliarini on Brazil. Check out Sabrina’s Tese Onze YouTube channel youtube.com/channel/UC0fGGprihDIlQ3ykWvcb9hg Support The Dig and receive our weekly newsletter at patreon.com/TheDig

The second of Dan’s two-part interview with Piero Gleijeses on his book Visions of Freedom: Havana, Washington, Pretoria, and the Struggle for Southern Africa, 1976–1991. This is the story of Cuba’s military defense of the Angolan government against a US and South Africa-backed effort to overthrow the People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA). The future of the entire region was on the line—including the fate of apartheid in South Africa and of Namibia, then a South African colony. ...

Part one of Dan’s two-part interview with Piero Gleijeses on his book Visions of Freedom: Havana, Washington, Pretoria, and the Struggle for Southern Africa, 1976–1991. This is the story of Cuba’s military defense of the Angolan government against a US and South Africa-backed effort to overthrow the People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA). The future of the entire region was on the line, including the fate of apartheid in South Africa and of Namibia, then a South African colony. L...

Astra Taylor interviews archaeologist David Wengrow on The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity, his new book co-authored with the late David Graeber. Support us at Patreon.com/TheDig Check out Hannah Arendt by Samantha Rose Hill reaktionbooks.co.uk/display.asp?ISB=9781789143799

Guest host Gabriel Winant interviews labor journalists Alex Press and Jonah Furman, as well as IATSE member Victor P. Bouzi. Listen to Primer, Alex’s podcast about Amazon patreon.com/primerpodcast Listen to Victor’s podcast WAIT, Why Am I Talking? podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/wait-why-am-i-talking/id1515308564 Support The Dig at Patreon.com/TheDig

A Striketober episode from The Dig archives. Support The Dig at Patreon.com/TheDig and receive our weekly newsletter by email

What are the politics of sex? Incels, porn, sexual racism, the feminist sex wars, and more. Philosopher Amia Srinivasan on her new essay collection The Right to Sex: Feminism in the Twenty-First Century. Want our very good weekly newsletter emailed to you? Support us at Patreon.com/TheDig Interested in the book advertised on this week’s Dig? thenewpress.com/books/empire-of-rubber

A very short ep on a great new documentary about the history and present of American socialism: The Big Scary S-Word. It’s by Yael Bridge, and it’s the perfect film to show to your skeptical uncle or to someone new to (or curious about) socialist politics. You can watch The Big Scary S-Word on iTunes, Apple TV or a number of other sites by visiting: www.socialismmovie.com/screenings

Legendary socialist scholar Tariq Ali on the long history of Afghanistan: the 19th and early 20th-century wars against the British Empire; the communist coup, Soviet invasion, and US-backed mujahideen war; the rise of the Taliban; and the 2001 US-led NATO invasion through the recent US defeat and withdrawal. Plus, a lot about Pakistan. Pre-order Ali’s forthcoming book The Forty-Year War in Afghanistan: A Chronicle Foretold versobooks.com/books/3939-the-forty-year-war-in-afghanistan Support thi...

Kim Stanley Robinson on science fiction, climate crisis, Marxism, geo-engineering, political violence, green Keynesianism, and a lot more. Interviewed by guest host Daniel Aldana Cohen, who read 11 of Robinson’s books during the pandemic quarantine, running from Red Mars through The Ministry for the Future. Support this podcast at Patreon.com/TheDig and receive our new weekly newsletter by email.

It’s Occupy Wall Street’s tenth anniversary. Dan interviews Astra Taylor. Support The Dig at Patreon.com/TheDig and get our new weekly newsletter. Listen to other pods in the retrospective series https://rosalux.nyc/occupy/

Episode three of The Dig’s War on Terror trilogy with Spencer Ackerman: Decadence, Trump, and Biden. Subscribe to Spencer’s Substack: foreverwars.substack.com/people/2576701-spencer-ackerman Support The Dig at Patreon.com/TheDig and (starting next week) get our weekly newsletter

Episode two of The Dig’s War on Terror trilogy with Spencer Ackerman: Obama, ISIS, and the Sustainable War. Subscribe to Spencer’s Substack: foreverwars.substack.com/people/2576701-spencer-ackerman Support The Dig at Patreon.com/TheDig and (starting next week) get our weekly newsletter

Episode one of The Dig’s three-part War on Terror series the with Spencer Ackerman: 9/11, bipartisan war fever, and George W. Bush. Subscribe to Spencer’s Substack: foreverwars.substack.com/people/2576701-spencer-ackerman Support The Dig at Patreon.com/TheDig and (very soon) get our weekly newsletter

Media critic Adam Johnson and New York Magazine’s Eric Levitz on the media’s warmongering attack on Biden’s withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan. Further reading: nymag.com/intelligencer/2021/08/media-bias-biden-polls-approval-afghanistan-withdrawal.html thecolumn.substack.com/p/on-afghanistan-withdrawal-nyts-peter Sign up for Adam’s Substack: thecolumn.substack.com Support The Dig at Patreon.com/TheDig and get our (coming soon) weekly newsletter

Dan interviews scholars Aldo Madariaga and Camila Vergara about how Chilean politics have been playing out since the massive popular uprisings that began in October 2019. Further reading: jacobinlat.com/2021/06/19/el-neoliberalismo-atenta-contra-la-democracia-2 newleftreview.org/sidecar/posts/burying-pinochet jacobinmag.com/2021/06/rene-rojas-interview-democracy-new-constitution-constituent-assembly-plebiscite-left-chile Support The Dig at Patreon.com/TheDig and (soon) receive our weekly ne...

Dan interviews historian Kristin Kobes Du Mez on her book Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation. “Having replaced the Jesus of the Gospels with the vengeful warrior Christ, it’s no wonder many came to think of Trump in the same way.” Support The Dig at Patreon.com/TheDig We now have a Discord for patrons and, starting in September, a weekly email newsletter too. If you want to join our Discord and cannot afford to contribute, just send us an emai...

Inflation is once again at the center of political debate. Dan interviews Tim Barker to put monetary policy in its historical and class war context. Reading: Preferred Shares by Tim Barker phenomenalworld.org/analysis/wage-share email digradiopod@gmail.com for PDFs of the following two articles: The Vietnam War and the Political Economy of Full Employment by Dean Baker, Robert Pollin and Elizabeth Zahrt Class Conflict and the “Natural Rate of Unemployment” by Robert Pollin Support The Dig ...

How China rejected neoliberal orthodoxy and became the new workshop of the world. Dan interviews economist Isabella Weber on her book How China Escaped Shock Therapy: The Market Reform Debate. Support this podcast at Patreon.com/TheDig

Who governs? Upon closer inspection, the composition of the ruling class has undergone huge changes that are driving this political moment. Dan interviews Doug Henwood, the author of “Take Me to Your Leader,” an extensive analysis of the changing composition of the ruling class published in Jacobin: jacobinmag.com/2021/04/take-me-to-your-leader-the-rot-of-the-american-ruling-class Support this podcast at Patreon.com/TheDig The Dig is taking it easy this summer so look for new episodes every tw...

The history of the United States is in no small part the history of US intervention in Latin America. Historian Greg Grandin on his classic book Empire’s Workshop: Latin America, the United States, and the Making of an Imperial Republic. Support this podcast at Patreon.com/TheDig Watch our new Dig video shorts on YouTube: youtube.com/watch?v=LcZb3A986p0

The Dig is taking a break to play catch up this week and posting a favorite interview from our archives: Nick Estes on his book Our History Is the Future: Standing Rock Versus the Dakota Access Pipeline, and the Long Tradition of Indigenous Resistance. First posted on June 29 2019. Support this podcast at Patreon.com/TheDig