

Varn Vlog
C. Derick Varn
Abandon all hope ye who subscribe here. Varn Vlog is the pod of C. Derick Varn. We combine the conversation on philosophy, political economy, art, history, culture, anthropology, and geopolitics from a left-wing and culturally informed perspective. We approach the world from a historical lens with an eye for hard truths and structural analysis.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Feb 2, 2023 • 2h 12min
Eric Draitser on the complications of Russia, Ukraine, and the contemporary left
Please support our Patreon. For early and ad-free episodes, members-only content, and more.Eric Draitser is an independent political analyst and host of CounterPunch Radio. You can find his exclusive content including articles, podcasts, audio commentaries, poetry, and more at patreon.com/ericdraitser. You can follow him on Twitter @stopimperialism. We talk about the various contradictions the left deals with in dealing with the Russia - Ukraine war.Crew:Host: C. Derick VarnAudio Producer: Paul Channel Strip ( @aufhebenkultur )Branding Design: Djene Bajalan and C. Derick VarnIntro and Outro Music by Bitter Lake.Intro Videos Design: Jason Myles, Dejene Balajan Send us a text Musis by Bitterlake, Used with Permission, all rights to BitterlakeSupport the showCrew:Host: C. Derick VarnIntro and Outro Music by Bitter Lake.Intro Video Design: Jason MylesArt Design: Corn and C. Derick VarnLinks and Social Media:twitter: @varnvlogblue sky: @varnvlog.bsky.socialYou can find the additional streams on YoutubeCurrent 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

Jan 30, 2023 • 1h 17min
Adam and Tish Turl on Born Again Labor Museum, Radicalism and Art
Please support our Patreon. For early and ad-free episodes, members-only content, and more.Adam Turl and Tish Turl are both activists and artists who co-founded the Born-Again Labor Museum ( https://www.bornagainlabor.com/ ) . Tish is a poet and writer and Adam is an artist and writer. Both are also members of the Locust Arts and Letters Collective.You can read more about BALM here: https://thesouthern.com/news/local/born-again-labor-museum-in-carbondale-showcases-stories-struggles-of-working-class/article_887e1acc-456b-5213-934b-75168e3c5991.htmlhttps://therealnews.com/at-the-born-again-labor-museum-art-is-a-weapon-for-the-working-classCrew:Host: C. Derick VarnAudio Producer: Paul Channel Strip ( @aufhebenkultur )Branding Design: Djene Bajalan and C. Derick VarnIntro and Outro Music by Bitter Lake.Intro Videos Design: Jason Myles, Dejene Balajan Send us a text Musis by Bitterlake, Used with Permission, all rights to BitterlakeSupport the showCrew:Host: C. Derick VarnIntro and Outro Music by Bitter Lake.Intro Video Design: Jason MylesArt Design: Corn and C. Derick VarnLinks and Social Media:twitter: @varnvlogblue sky: @varnvlog.bsky.socialYou can find the additional streams on YoutubeCurrent 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

Jan 23, 2023 • 1h 59min
Matt Lech of Left Reckoning on Understanding Rural Politics and Socialist Strategy
Please support our Patreon. For early and ad-free episodes, members-only content, and more.Matt Lech is a producer for @Majority Report and a co-host of @Left Reckoning. He currently lives in New York but is originally from North Dakota. We talk about socialist strategy, progressivism in the far west, and rural politics. Crew:Host: C. Derick VarnAudio Producer: Paul Channel Strip ( @aufhebenkultur )Branding Design: Djene Bajalan and C. Derick VarnIntro and Outro Music by Bitter Lake.Intro Videos Design: Jason Myles, Dejene BalajanSend us a text Musis by Bitterlake, Used with Permission, all rights to BitterlakeSupport the showCrew:Host: C. Derick VarnIntro and Outro Music by Bitter Lake.Intro Video Design: Jason MylesArt Design: Corn and C. Derick VarnLinks and Social Media:twitter: @varnvlogblue sky: @varnvlog.bsky.socialYou can find the additional streams on YoutubeCurrent 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

Jan 19, 2023 • 1h 55min
Alexander Prähauser on Category Theory, Math, and Hegelian Dialectics
Please support our Patreon. For early and ad-free episodes, members-only content, and more.Alexander Prähauser is an artist and mathematician living in Austria. We discuss the usefulness of mathematics and category theory in developing scientific thought from and contributing to Hegelian Dialectics. Crew:Host: C. Derick VarnAudio Producer: Paul Channel Strip ( @aufhebenkultur )Branding Design: Djene Bajalan and C. Derick VarnIntro and Outro Music by Bitter Lake.Intro Videos Design: Jason Myles, Dejene BalajanSend us a text Musis by Bitterlake, Used with Permission, all rights to BitterlakeSupport the showCrew:Host: C. Derick VarnIntro and Outro Music by Bitter Lake.Intro Video Design: Jason MylesArt Design: Corn and C. Derick VarnLinks and Social Media:twitter: @varnvlogblue sky: @varnvlog.bsky.socialYou can find the additional streams on YoutubeCurrent 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

Jan 16, 2023 • 2h 29min
Chris Wright on the Myth of American Moderation
Please support our Patreon. For early and ad-free episodes, members-only content, and more.Chris Wright is a historian and socialist, the author of “Worker Cooperatives and Revolution” and "Popular Radicalism and the Unemployed in Chicago during the Great Depression." We discuss the myth of American moderation and also how identitarian movements are often framed in an exclusivist way to actually promote that myth while also seeming radical. Links mentioned: Race Reductionism Threatens to Doom the LeftMarxism and the Solidarity Economy: Toward a New Theory of RevolutionCrew:Host: C. Derick VarnAudio Producer: Paul Channel Strip ( @aufhebenkultur )Branding Design: Djene Bajalan and C. Derick VarnIntro and Outro Music by Bitter Lake.Intro Videos Design: Jason Myles, Dejene Balajan Send us a text Musis by Bitterlake, Used with Permission, all rights to BitterlakeSupport the showCrew:Host: C. Derick VarnIntro and Outro Music by Bitter Lake.Intro Video Design: Jason MylesArt Design: Corn and C. Derick VarnLinks and Social Media:twitter: @varnvlogblue sky: @varnvlog.bsky.socialYou can find the additional streams on YoutubeCurrent 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

Jan 12, 2023 • 2h 5min
Nicolas D Villarreal on Worker Inquiry, Economic Research, and Casper Forums
Please support our Patreon. For early and ad-free episodes, members-only content, and more.Nicolas D. Villarreal is a writer and analyst on political economy and theory. He has contributed work to Palladium Magazine and Cosmonaut Magazine. He is the founder of Casper Forum. We discuss workers' inquiry, economic analysis and its difficulties, theories of interpretation, and the purpose of Casper Forum. Crew:Host: C. Derick VarnAudio Producer: Paul Channel Strip ( @aufhebenkultur )Branding Design: Djene Bajalan and C. Derick VarnIntro and Outro Music by Bitter Lake.Intro Videos Design: Jason Myles, Dejene BalajanSend us a text Musis by Bitterlake, Used with Permission, all rights to BitterlakeSupport the showCrew:Host: C. Derick VarnIntro and Outro Music by Bitter Lake.Intro Video Design: Jason MylesArt Design: Corn and C. Derick VarnLinks and Social Media:twitter: @varnvlogblue sky: @varnvlog.bsky.socialYou can find the additional streams on YoutubeCurrent 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

Jan 9, 2023 • 1h 41min
Cyber Dandy on American Anti Communism, Part 2
Please support our Patreon. For early and ad-free episodes, members-only content, and more.Today we are talking to Cyber Dandy, who blogs at Cyber Dandy and vlogs on Cyber Dandy Youtube on existentialism, leftism, anarchism, and the post-Biden left milieu. We talk about anti-communism and anti-radicalism in the US from in 1940s-1970s. Crew:Host: C. Derick VarnAudio Producer: Paul Channel Strip ( @aufhebenkultur )Branding Design: Djene Bajalan and C. Derick VarnIntro and Outro Music by Bitter Lake.Intro Videos Design: Jason Myles, Dejene BalajanSend us a text Musis by Bitterlake, Used with Permission, all rights to BitterlakeSupport the showCrew:Host: C. Derick VarnIntro and Outro Music by Bitter Lake.Intro Video Design: Jason MylesArt Design: Corn and C. Derick VarnLinks and Social Media:twitter: @varnvlogblue sky: @varnvlog.bsky.socialYou can find the additional streams on YoutubeCurrent 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

Jan 5, 2023 • 1h 52min
Gabriel Winant on Barbara Ehrenreich and the Changing Nature of Class
Please support our Patreon. For early and ad-free episodes, members-only content, and more.Gabriel Winant is an Assistant Professor of History at the University of Chicago. His writing about work, inequality, and capitalism in modern America has appeared in The Nation, the New Republic, Dissent, and n+1. We discuss the legacy of Barbara Ehrenreich, the development of her concept of the PMC, uses and abuses of the concept, critiques of its relevance, and the specific ways class relationships changed. We reference the following articles: https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674292192https://www.nplusonemag.com/online-only/online-only/on-barbara-ehrenreich/https://www.promarket.org/2021/12/05/amnerican-manufacturing-decline-healthcare-working-class-deindustrialization/Crew:Host: C. Derick VarnAudio Producer: Paul Channel Strip ( @aufhebenkultur )Branding Design: Djene Bajalan and C. Derick VarnIntro and Outro Music by Bitter Lake.Intro Videos Design: Jason Myles, Dejene BalajanSend us a text Musis by Bitterlake, Used with Permission, all rights to BitterlakeSupport the showCrew:Host: C. Derick VarnIntro and Outro Music by Bitter Lake.Intro Video Design: Jason MylesArt Design: Corn and C. Derick VarnLinks and Social Media:twitter: @varnvlogblue sky: @varnvlog.bsky.socialYou can find the additional streams on YoutubeCurrent 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

Jan 2, 2023 • 1h 57min
The crisis of the left in India with Spencer Leonard, Dwaipayan Sen, and Atiya Singh
Please support our Patreon. For early and ad-free episodes, members-only content, and more.Spencer returns to the show to begin the first of our series on the history and issues of the left in India. He brings two fellow scholars from South Asia, Dwaipayan Sen, and Atiya Singh. Crew:Host: C. Derick VarnAudio Producer: Paul Channel Strip ( @aufhebenkultur )Branding Design: Djene Bajalan and C. Derick VarnIntro and Outro Music by Bitter Lake.Intro Videos Design: Jason Myles, Dejene BalajanSend us a text Musis by Bitterlake, Used with Permission, all rights to BitterlakeSupport the showCrew:Host: C. Derick VarnIntro and Outro Music by Bitter Lake.Intro Video Design: Jason MylesArt Design: Corn and C. Derick VarnLinks and Social Media:twitter: @varnvlogblue sky: @varnvlog.bsky.socialYou can find the additional streams on YoutubeCurrent 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

Dec 26, 2022 • 1h 19min
Zhala Taghi-Zada on Schizophrenia, Mental Health, Stigma, and the Law
Please support our Patreon. For early and ad-free episodes, members-only content, and more.This is Strange Matters and Varn Vlog collaboration. Zhala Taghi-Zada is a Clinical Research Coordinator based in Toronto. We discuss her recent article on "The Complex Stigma of Schizophrenia" and the implications of mental health in the Canadian (and US) legal system. Support Strange Matters.Crew:Host: C. Derick VarnAudio Producer: Paul Channel Strip ( @aufhebenkultur )Branding Design: Djene Bajalan and C. Derick VarnIntro and Outro Music by Bitter Lake.Intro Videos Design: Jason Myles, Dejene BalajanSend us a text Musis by Bitterlake, Used with Permission, all rights to BitterlakeSupport the showCrew:Host: C. Derick VarnIntro and Outro Music by Bitter Lake.Intro Video Design: Jason MylesArt Design: Corn and C. Derick VarnLinks and Social Media:twitter: @varnvlogblue sky: @varnvlog.bsky.socialYou can find the additional streams on YoutubeCurrent 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