The hardest problems don’t fit into a slogan. We invited the editors behind Heatwave Magazine to unpack why national fixes can’t solve planetary crises, why tariffs and “reindustrialization” won’t restore a high‑wage equilibrium, and how social democracy keeps running headfirst into profitability and energy limits. We talk plainly about China’s energy transition and youth unemployment, Mexico’s narco‑capitalist dual power, and why so much left media looks away from contradictions that actually shape daily life.

Our conversation moves from print as a living hub—short, sharp pieces that travel through bookstores, Discords, and reading groups—to the strategic dead ends of culture-only union optimism and Twitter-only militancy. Riots are real—often the form class conflict takes when every other route is blocked—but without institutions that bridge street power to social reproduction and production, movements burn out. We explore what those institutions could be: not a party blueprint, not a co‑op panacea, but durable infrastructures for shared analysis, care, and coordination across borders.

We also cut through the growth vs degrowth stalemate by asking different questions: what forms of energy and production reorganize land, labor, and life without reproducing domination? How do we build imagination when most people have never known another way to live? From beavers and watersheds to logistics chokepoints and labor’s changing composition, we map the terrain as it is—messy, global, and unforgiving—so we can act with clarity instead of wishful thinking.

If you’re tired of easy answers and ready to engage the hard constraints shaping our future, this one’s for you. Listen, share, and tell us where you think the real leverage lies. And if the conversation sparks something, subscribe, leave a review, and pass it to a comrade who needs a sharp tool, not a shiny slogan.

Musis by Bitterlake, Used with Permission, all rights to Bitterlake

Crew:
Host: C. Derick Varn
Intro and Outro Music by Bitter Lake.
Intro Video Design: Jason Myles
Art Design: Corn and C. Derick Varn

Links and Social Media:
twitter: @varnvlog
blue sky: @varnvlog.bsky.social
You can find the additional streams on Youtube

Current Patreon at the Sponsor Tier: Jordan Sheldon, Mark J. Matthews, Lindsay Kimbrough, RedWolf, DRV, Kenneth McKee, JY Chan, Matthew Monahan, Parzival, Adriel Mixon, Buddy Roark, Daniel Petrovic

S02 E01 - #100 The Usual Suspects

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