

Everyday Anarchism
Graham Culbertson
The core idea of this podcast comes from David Graeber, who wrote that our everyday life is mostly run on anarchism, and at the same time people believe that anarchism doesn’t work. One of these is wrong.
I hope to illuminate how our communities already depend on Mutual Aid, in big and small ways. I'll do that by excavating the historical events and cultural trends you already know about, but have never thought about in terms of anarchism.
Find me at https://www.everydayanarchism.com
I hope to illuminate how our communities already depend on Mutual Aid, in big and small ways. I'll do that by excavating the historical events and cultural trends you already know about, but have never thought about in terms of anarchism.
Find me at https://www.everydayanarchism.com
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jan 1, 2022 • 32min
019. Emma Goldman - Anarchism: What it Really Stands for
In this inaugural episode of Anarchism 101: An Anarchist Syllabus, I read Goldman's famous essay. If you would prefer to read the essay, you can find it here: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/2162/2162-h/2162-h.htm#anarchismThis project is year-long; on the first of each month of 2022, I'll be posting my reading of an important anarchist text. Later that month, I'll post an episode in which I discuss each text and its author.If you have any questions you would like answered about the text or Goldman, email me at everydayanarchismpodcast@gmail.com If you email soon enough, we can include your question in the discussion episode. Look forward to Kropotkin in February 2022!As always, you can find me at www.everydayanarchism.com

Dec 29, 2021 • 1h 10min
018. Anarchism is...the Bundesliga (with Julian Einfeldt)
Association football, also known as soccer, is one of the most beloved of all human pursuits. It's also one of the most democratic, most grassroots, most anarchist. Lately, though, billionaires, especially petro-billionaires and American sports billionaires, have been trying to take soccer away from the people. Now the petro-billionaires are squabbling with the American billionaires to see if soccer should become more like American football.In this episode I'll explain the corporate communism for billionaires of the NFL, the corporate anarchy for billionaires of English football, and the democracy of the German Bundesliga. For the second half of the episode, I'm joined by Julian Einfeldt of the FC St. Pauli Fanladen, a fan organization dedicated to keeping the 2. Bundesliga team FC St. Pauli grassroots, democratic, and inclusive.As always, you can find me at www.everydayanarchism.com. I need your support for the show to continue through 2022!

Dec 22, 2021 • 47min
017. The Twilight Zone's Christmas Romance
For the second Christmas special from Everyday Anarchism in 2021, I'm doing a reading of "The Night of the Meek," season 2, episode 11 of The Twilight Zone. I begin with an explanation of a genre I'm calling "Christmas Romance," then show how that episode of The Twilight Zone puts the classic twilight zone twist on the Christmas romance. Along the way I touch on Shakespearean romances, the power of Christmas to transform society, Dickens' A Christmas Carol, and whether or not Die Hard is a Christmas movie.As always, you can find me at www.everydayanarchism.com

Dec 15, 2021 • 42min
016. Anarchism is...Santa Claus! -- Ruth Kinna
For the first of two Christmas specials from Everyday Anarchism, I'm joined by Ruth Kinna to discuss the anarchism of Christmas and Santa Claus. You can read Ruth's article on the topic here: An Anarchist Guide to ChristmasNext week, another Christmas episode, this time on "The Night of the Meek," season 2, episode 11 of The Twilight Zone. As always, you can find me at www.everydayanarchism.com

Dec 8, 2021 • 1h 3min
015. The Meritocracy -- William Deresiewicz
This week's episode is the first of several episodes about how colleges and universities have abandoned their core mission - the collaborative search for truth - in favor of, well, something else. My guest for this episode is William Deresiewicz, author of Excellent Sheep, The Death of the Artist, and the landmark essay ""Don't Send Your Kid to the Ivy League." Bill and I discuss the meritocracy and the damage it is doing to our students, our colleges, and our political institutions. We also discuss the way that the meritocratic language around "diversity" obscures the actual problems and solutions for social and political justice in higher education.Next week's episode is about anarchism and Christmas. I highly recommend that you read "An Anarchist Guide to Christmas" by Ruth Kinna, covering the similarities between Kropotkin and Santa Claus, in advance of my conversation with Ruth about Santa and anarchism.As always, you can find me at https://www.everydayanarchism.com/

Dec 1, 2021 • 51min
014. Anarchism is...Breaking (Supply) Chains
We've got a supply chain crisis! But the supply chain is the crisis. The supply chain isn't some new, efficient, capitalist remnant of colonialism and slavery. In fact, colonialism and slavery were developed to feed the supply chain. The supply chain came first. So if we want to be free, we can't fix the supply chain. We've got to abolish the supply chain.In this episode, we explore the colonialist history of the supply chain, discuss its devastating impact on workers and the environment, and talk about anarchist ways to resist the supply chain.For more Everyday Anarchism, and to support the show financially, go to: https://www.everydayanarchism.com/

Nov 24, 2021 • 53min
013. Anarchism is...Crossword Puzzles -- Leonard Williams
This week's episode is an interview with Professor Leonard Williams, a professor of political science, crossword puzzle constructor, and author of the new book, Black Blocks, White Squares: Crosswords with an Anarchist Edge. Join me and Professor Williams for a discussion of that book, plus the anarchist nature of 60s protests, the forces driving the rebirth of anarchism in the 21st century, and even the anarchist nature of constructing and solving crossword puzzles. You can get the book at your local bookstore, or directly from the publisher, AK Press: https://www.akpress.org/blackblockswhitesquares.htmlIf any of you are interested in constructing some of your own puzzles, here are some resources from Professor Williams:Free construction software: - Crosshare https://crosshare.org/ Construction tips and help - Cruciverb.com https://www.cruciverb.com/index.php And if you're interested in more resources, visit this episode on the Everyday Anarchism Website

Nov 17, 2021 • 44min
012. Anarchism Is...Science
Science is real! At least that's what my neighbor's sign says. But what does it mean to claim that science is real? Aren't lots of things real?In this episode, I argue that "science is real" is a claim that science isn't just real, it has access to a higher reality, one that nonscientists aren't allowed to argue with. This means science isn't just real, it's the boss. Which isn't very anarchist.Luckily for us, though, scientists and the scientific process don't actually work this way. How does science work? Anarchism.

Nov 10, 2021 • 41min
011. Q&A: Anarchism and the Political Process
In this Q&A episode, I respond to questions about voting, juries, and other elements of the political process. Tune in to hear how I think we can use parts of the political process, like voting and the justice system, to try to make the world a more anarchist place. I also answer two questions about David Graeber, in anticipation of his new book, The Dawn of Everything, coming out this week!View this post on the Everyday Anarchism Website here.

Nov 3, 2021 • 49min
010. Anarchism is...Jesus of Nazareth - Part 2: Jesus of Nazareth
Now that Jesus Christ is out of the way, we can study Jesus of Nazareth, the anarcho-communist who hated property, encouraged his followers to share everything together, and sent the rich to hell without even thinking about it. Our guide to this Jesus is Walter Rauschenbusch, whose bold claim for Jesus as a socialist in the early 20th century reverberated around the world. This Jesus actually thought the last could be first. And he didn't have much time for lawyers, philosophers, priests, judges, emperors, and anyone else who held power.www.everydayanarchism.com