EP. 816: TROUBLEMAKER: THE FIERCE, UNRULY LIFE OF JESSICA MITFORD ft. CARLA KAPLAN

Get Carla's Book here: https://carlakaplan.com/troublemaker-the-fierce-unruly-life-of-jessica-mitford.html   The second youngest of the famously beautiful—and brilliant—“Mitford Girls,” Jessica Mitford was brought up by an eccentric English family in the bucolic Cotswolds. She and her sisters were raised to marry well and reproduce their class. Five of them enthusiastically embraced that path and went on to lead glamorous lives that have been the subject of countless books and movies, with more on the way. And then there was Jessica...   Jessica—known as Decca—broke the Mitford mold. At the age of nineteen, she ran away from a world of wealth and privilege to fight fascism in the Spanish Civil War. She survived war; her husband, Esmond, did not, leaving her to raise their then-unborn child alone. Undaunted, Decca became an American Communist and, in mid-life, pioneered a witty and wildly popular style of writing which placed her at the heart of the social struggles of her day. A celebrity in the civil rights, free speech, antiwar, and prison abolition movements, she relentlessly pursued both fairness and joy, injecting humor into all her political work and encouraging the activists she influenced to do the same. She left her mark on celebrities too, including famed baby doctor Benjamin Spock and best friend Maya Angelou. Decca’s anti authoritarian irreverence had an impact that was broad and profound.   Check out our new bi-weekly series, "The Crisis Papers" here: https://www.patreon.com/bitterlakepresents/shop   Thank you guys again for taking the time to check this out. We appreciate each and everyone of you. If you have the means, and you feel so inclined,   BECOME A PATRON! We're creating patron only programing, you'll get bonus content from many of the episodes, and you get MERCH!   Become a patron now https://www.patreon.com/join/BitterLakePresents? Please also like, subscribe, and follow us on these platforms as well, (specially YouTube!)   THANKS Y'ALL   YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG9WtLyoP9QU8sxuIfxk3eg Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Thisisrevolutionpodcast/ Twitter: @TIRShowOakland Instagram: @thisisrevolutionoakland   Substack: https://jmylesoftir.substack.com/.../the-money-will-roll...   Read Jason Myles in Sublation Magazine https://www.sublationmag.com/writers/jason-myles Read Jason Myles in Damage Magazine https://damagemag.com/2023/11/07/the-man-who-sold-the-world/