

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

Oct 11, 2021 • 1h 47min
Dr. Pouya Alimagham on Iranian History, Middle Eastern Politics, and American Imperialism
Please support our patreon. For early and ad-free episodes, members-only content, and more. Dr. Pouya Alimagham is a historian of the modern Middle East at MIT. He is the author of Contesting the Iranian Revolution: The Green Uprisings. We talk about the long history of American politics and the making of modern Iran, the making of American policy in the modern middle east, the Islamicate world's encounters with European modernity, and much more. Abandon all hope ye who subscribe here. We are affiliated with the Emancipation Network.Crew:Host: C. Derick VarnAudio Producer: Paul Channel Strip ( @aufhebenkultur )Intro and Outro Music by Bitter Lake.Intro Video Design: Jason MylesLinks and Social Media:twitter: @skepoetFacebookYou can find the additional streams on YoutubeSend 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

Oct 4, 2021 • 1h 57min
Doug Enaa Greene on Harrington and Socialism in the Biden Moment
Please support our patreon. For early and ad-free episodes, members-only content, and more.Doug Enaa Greene is the author of Communist Insurgent: Blanqui's Politics of Revolution and the forthcoming A Failure of Vision: Michael Harrington and the Limits of Democratic Socialism (Forthcoming, Zero Books, 2022). He also blogs at The Blanquist as well as writes for publications like Left Voice, Socialism and Democracy, LINKS International Journal of Socialist Renewal, MRZine, Counterpunch, Socialist Viewpoint, and Jacobin. This is our second conversation on Harrington's legacy, the DSA, etc. Correction: At one point, I say that consulting budget seems to be up to 40% of DSA national's budget. Upon further research, it seems to be about 8% but the other percent breakdowns seem to be correct. Abandon all hope ye who subscribe here. We are affiliated with the Emancipation Network.Crew:Host: C. Derick VarnAudio Producer: Paul Channel Strip ( @aufhebenkultur )Intro and Outro Music by Bitter Lake.Intro Video Design: Jason MylesLinks and Social Media:twitter: @skepoetFacebookYou can find the additional streams on YoutubeSend 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

Sep 30, 2021 • 1h 36min
Kenzo Shibata on the Punk Rock, Politics, and Generational Shifts
Please support our patreon. For early and ad-free episodes, members-only content, and more.Kenzo Shibata is the host of Meet the Left, organizer, and teacher who shares a love of Punk rock. We discuss the late Gen X tendency to aestheticize politics and the problems of scenes and radical chic. We also go anecdotal about generational differences. This is a why ranging conversation. Abandon all hope ye who subscribe here. We are affiliated with the Emancipation Network.Crew:Host: C. Derick VarnAudio Producer: Paul Channel Strip ( @aufhebenkultur )Intro and Outro Music by Bitter Lake.Intro Video Design: Jason MylesLinks and Social Media:twitter: @skepoetFacebookYou can find the additional streams on YoutubeSend 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

Sep 27, 2021 • 2h 23min
Greg Belvedere on Ecology, Systems, and Crisis
Please support our patreon. For early and ad-free episodes, members-only content, and more.Greg Belvedere is a writer and sometimes youtuber who is very interested in the problems of ecology and net-energy expenditure. We discuss how much more radical our reconception of life may need to be to control our response to climate change and how unlikely that is. Abandon all hope ye who subscribe here. We are affiliated with the Emancipation Network.Crew:Host: C. Derick VarnAudio Producer: Paul Channel Strip ( @aufhebenkultur )Intro and Outro Music by Bitter Lake.Intro Video Design: Jason MylesLinks and Social Media:twitter: @skepoetFacebookYou can find the additional streams on YoutubeSend 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

Sep 20, 2021 • 1h 19min
Erika Whelan on the Left Communism
Please support our patreon. For early and ad-free episodes, members-only content, and more.Erika Whelan discusses the history and functions of left communism with me. Abandon all hope ye who subscribe here. We are affiliated with the Emancipation Network.Crew:Host: C. Derick VarnAudio Producer: Paul Channel Strip ( @aufhebenkultur )Intro and Outro Music by Bitter Lake.Intro Video Design: Jason MylesLinks and Social Media:twitter: @skepoetFacebookYou can find the additional streams on YoutubeSend 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

Sep 13, 2021 • 1h 36min
Adam Ray Adkins on The Acid Aesthetic and Left Horizons
Please support our patreon. For early and ad-free episodes, members-only content, and more.Adam Ray Adkins is the co-host of the Acid Left. We discuss art, culture, and what is the acid left, and why it may be important.Abandon all hope ye who subscribe here. We are affiliated with the Emancipation Network.Crew:Host: C. Derick VarnAudio Producer: Paul Channel Strip ( @aufhebenkultur )Intro and Outro Music by Bitter Lake.Intro Video Design: Jason MylesLinks and Social Media:twitter: @skepoetFacebookYou can find the additional streams on YoutubeSend 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

Sep 6, 2021 • 1h 10min
Mike Watson on Memeing Through Hotel Grand Abyss
Please support our patreon. For early and ad-free episodes, members-only content, and more.Mike Watson is the author of Can the Left Learn to Meme? (Zero Books, 2019) and The Memeing of Mark Fisher (Zero Books, forthcoming 2021) and the co-host of the Acid Left. We discuss memes, the Frankfurt school, and the left's ability to communicate a singular and coherent narrative. Abandon all hope ye who subscribe here. We are affiliated with the Emancipation Network.Crew:Host: C. Derick VarnAudio Producer: Paul Channel Strip ( @aufhebenkultur )Intro and Outro Music by Bitter Lake.Intro Video Design: Jason MylesLinks and Social Media:twitter: @skepoetFacebookYou can find the additional streams on YoutubeSend 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

Sep 2, 2021 • 1h 21min
Sam Shain on revolutionizing education in the 21th Century
lease support our patreon. For early and ad-free episodes, members-only content, and more.Sam Shain and I discuss media literacy, critical thinking, and the curriculum in high school humanities. Sam is a teacher and former journalist as well as the author of Education Revolution (forthcoming Zero Books). Abandon all hope ye who subscribe here. We are affiliated with the Emancipation Network.Crew:Host: C. Derick VarnAudio Producer: Paul Channel Strip ( @aufhebenkultur )Intro and Outro Music by Bitter Lake.Intro Video Design: Jason MylesLinks and Social Media:twitter: @skepoetFacebookYou can find the additional streams on YoutubeSend 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

Aug 30, 2021 • 1h 26min
Political Payne on perils of California and the decline of local journalism
Please support our patreon. For early and ad-free episodes, members-only content, and more.This week to Joe Payne about the situation in California, the end of working-class background journalists, and the decline of local journalism. Joe Payne is the host of Political Payne and the co-host of Bad Takes. Abandon all hope ye who subscribe here. We are affiliated with the Emancipation Network.Crew:Host: C. Derick VarnAudio Producer: Paul Channel Strip ( @aufhebenkultur )Intro and Outro Music by Bitter Lake.Intro Video Design: Jason MylesLinks and Social Media:twitter: @skepoetFacebookYou can find the additional streams on YoutubeSend 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

Aug 23, 2021 • 1h 31min
Ted Reese on the Legacy of Grossman and Precarity of the Future
Please support our patreon. For early and ad-free episodes, members-only content, and more.This week to Ted Reese about the importance of Henryk Grossman. Reese is the author of Socialism or Extinction and forthcoming The End of Capitalism: The Thought of Henryk Grossman (Zero Books). Reese elaborates on profitability and its limits to the kinds of innovation that is developed in response to climate change. Abandon all hope ye who subscribe here. We are affiliated with the Emancipation Network.Crew:Host: C. Derick VarnAudio Producer: Paul Channel Strip ( @aufhebenkultur )Intro and Outro Music by Bitter Lake.Intro Video Design: Jason MylesLinks and Social Media:twitter: @skepoetFacebookYou can find the additional streams on YoutubeSend 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


