This Is Hell!

Historian Gerald Horne on the intertwined histories of boxing and Black men under the long reach of slavery, White supremacy and capitalist exploitation in the American 20th century, and his book The Bittersweet Science: Racism, Racketeering and the Political Economy of Boxing from International Publishers. Please show your appreciation for completely listener-supported This is Hell! by becoming a Patreon patron at patreon.com/thisishell

Historian Gerald Horne explores the terrains of race, religion, capital and slavery across the 16th century trans-Atlantic world - as European powers pillaged Africa and the Americas of both people and resources, their destruction created the enduring formations of life in the 21st century - White supremacy and rapacious capitalism. Gerald is author of the book The Dawning of the Apocalypse: The Roots of Slavery, White Supremacy, Settler Colonialism, and Capitalism in the Long Sixteenth Century from Monthly Review Press. Please show your appreciation for completely listener-supported This is Hell! by becoming a Patreon patron at patreon.com/thisishell

Historian Gerald Horne explores the intersection of White supremacy, Cold War politics and global liberation movements in southern Africa - as the struggle against colonialism and apartheid oriented itself within the larger conflict between capitalist and socialist states, the ANC and solidarity movements won major (but compromised and incomplete) victories against regimes of racial and economic exploitation. Gerald is author of White Supremacy Confronted: U.S. Imperialism and Anti-Communism vs. the Liberation of Southern Africa from Rhodes to Mandela from International Publishers. Please show your appreciation for completely listener-supported This is Hell! by becoming a Patreon patron at patreon.com/thisishell

While Chuck is away for the next two weeks in Northern Michigan on the annual family vacation, producer Will Ippen is holding down the fort. This episode features the first of six This is Hell! interviews with prolific historian and listener favorite Gerald Horne. This interview features a discussion of the roots of white supremacy in 17th century settler colonialism in North America as revealed in Horne's 2018 book The Apocalypse of Settler Colonialism: The Apocalypse of Settler Colonialism: The Roots of Slavery, White Supremacy, and Capitalism in 17th Century North America and the Caribbean. Gerald Horne is the John J. and Rebecca Moores Chair of History and African American Studies at the University of Houston. He is the author of more than thirty books and one hundred scholarly articles and reviews that document the history of racism as it intersects with labor, civil rights, politics, international relations, and war. Please show your appreciation for completely listener-supported This is Hell! by becoming a Patreon patron at patreon.com/thisishell

Ben Makuch discusses his recent Intercept report titled " Russian Militia Has Links to American Neo-Nazi and Anti-Trans Figures: The leader of the anti-Putin Russian Volunteer Corps is publicly connected to Robert Rundo and Christopher Pohlhaus." After the interview, a Question from Hell! winner is revealed and Jeff Dorchen remembers when we tried civilization in his latest Moment of Truth. Support This is Hell! at https://www.patreon.com/thisishell

Center for Economic and Policy Research's Jake Johnston on his opinion piece at The New York Times, “The U.S. Still Can Do What’s Right for Haiti.” Afterwards, Rotten History explores the Erfurt Latrine Disaster. Support This is Hell! at https://www.patreon.com/thisishell

Writer, theorist, and recovering academic Sophie Lewis returns to Hell to discuss her Baffler article, “The Good Enough Momfluencer: Disavowing maternal fantasies is easier said than done.” The article is a review of the book, “Momfluenced: Inside the Maddening, Picture-Perfect World of Mommy Influencer Culture,” by Sara Peterson. Peterson’s website says she writes about feminism, domesticity, and motherhood. Peterson also writes a newsletter about the myth of the ideal mother, ‘In Pursuit of Clean Countertops.’ Read Sophie’s article: https://thebaffler.com/latest/the-good-enough-momfluencer-lewis This is Sophie’s third appearance on This is Hell! She was on the show most recently in October of last year, 2022, to discuss her book, “Abolish the Family: A Manifesto for Care and Liberation.” You may also remember Sophie being on the show back in July 2019 to talk about her book, “Full Surrogacy Now: Feminism Against Family.” Not only were both those interviews selected by listeners as among the best of each year – and replayed during our end of year ‘Best of’ special broadcasts – but you can find both conversations by going to thisishell.com and searching on ‘Lewis,’ and, as always, they are free. Sophie is currently hard at work on a book for Haymarket on enemy feminisms. Sophie’s lectures are archived at lasophielle.org. Follow Sophie on Twitter at (at)reproutopia and support her work at patreon.com/reproutopia Support This is Hell! at https://www.patreon.com/thisishell

Today's episode features an interview with This Is Hell! regular Brian Mier. Brian updates Chuck on what the US corporate media has been getting wrong about Brazil. We also have the second of a two-part Moment of Truth from Jeff Dorchen. Brian Mier is a Chicagoan who immigrated to Brazil in the 1990s. He is a sociologist and geographer. He is also Brazil Correspondent for TeleSur English, co-host of Globalistas on TV 247, Brasilwire, FAIR, COHA, Truthdig, Geopolitical Economy Report, Carta Capital, Outras Palavras. Support This is Hell! on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thisishell

Michael Gould-Wartofsky on his TomDispatch article, "American Inquisition: Field Notes from the Frontlines of the Government's War on the Left," which also appeared at Salon. Michael Gould-Wartofsky is a writer, ethnographer, and human-rights activist from New York City and a postdoctoral research fellow at Columbia University. He is the author of The Occupiers and American Inquisitions (forthcoming in 2025), and has written for the Washington Post, the Daily Beast, Tom Dispatch, Gizmodo, Jacobin, Mother Jones, The Nation, and Newsweek. You can read more of his work at mgouldwartofsky.com. Also included: Rotten History about the Port of Chicago disaster. Support This is Hell! on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thisishell

M.E. O’Brien joins us in Hell to discuss her new book "Family Abolition: Capitalism and the Communizing of Care" published by Pluto Press. M.E. co-edits two magazines, Pinko, on gay communism, and Parapraxis, on psychoanalytic theory and politics. Her work on family abolition has been translated into Chinese, German, Greek, French, Spanish, and Turkish. Her writing has been published by Work, Employment and Society, Social Movement Studies, Endnotes, Homintern, Commune, and Invert. Previously, she coordinated the New York City Trans Oral History Project, and worked in HIV and AIDS activism and services. She completed a PhD at NYU, where she wrote on how capitalism shaped New York City LGBTQ social movements. Find her on twitter (at)genderhorizon and at her website https://genderhorizon.com/ Support This is Hell! on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thisishell