Politics Theory Other

On Monday evening soldiers of the Indian Army and the Chinese People's Liberation Army clashed on their disputed border in the Ladakh area of Kashmir in the Himalayas. Reportedly fighting with rocks and iron bars, no shots were fired but the Indian Army reported twenty deaths on its side and also claimed casualties on the Chinese side. I spoke to Arif Rafiq about what we know about the clashes between the two regional powers, how China perceived India's annexation of Jammu and Kashmir last year, and how US support for India may facilitate increasing Chinese dominance in Asia. To get access to this episode become a $5 PTO supporter on patreon: https://www.patreon.com/poltheoryother

Vivian Gornick joins me to talk about her classic book, 'The Romance of American Communism'. We spoke about her experience of growing up amongst communists and socialists in the Bronx in the 1930s, how she sought to counter simplistic depictions of the lives of American communists and how - in spite of its authoritarianism - the American Communist Party enabled ordinary men and women to feel connected to a larger human project.

Nikhil Pal Singh joins me to discuss the massive protests against police violence in the United States that emerged in response to the police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis. We talked about why the protests are so large and so diverse and the movement's demands for the abolition or defunding of the police.

Adam Hanieh joins me to talk about the challenges Covid-19 and the debt crisis pose to countries in the global south, how western economic and military intervention has undermined state capacity needed to combat the pandemic, and finally we discussed Adam's argument that the crisis may paradoxically be in certain respects beneficial for the oil majors and the richest oil producing countries - in spite of last month's collapse in oil prices. Our conversation was prompted by two articles by Adam for the Verso books blog: This is a Global Pandemic – Let’s Treat it as Such https://www.versobooks.com/blogs/4623-this-is-a-global-pandemic-let-s-treat-it-as-such When Oil Markets Go Viral https://www.versobooks.com/blogs/4651-when-oil-markets-go-viral

Troy Vetesse joins me to discuss the sixth mass extinction event and how Karl Marx's concepts of real and formal subsumption are relevant to the ecological crisis. We also spoke about how the Covid19 pandemic illuminates Troy's argument. Our conversation was prompted by Troy's essay, 'A Marxist Theory of Extinction' from issue 7 of the journal Salvage.

Holly Buck joins me to discuss her new book, After Geoengineering: Climate Tragedy, Repair, and Restoration. We talked about why we may have little choice but to undertake geoengineering to avert the worst of the climate crisis. We also discussed the question of whether climate change is innately difficult for human beings to comprehend, and whether avoiding the worst effects of climate change will entail moving beyond capitalism.

In the latest episode of #RedHacks Joana Ramiro talks to Novara Media co-founder Aaron Bastani about the importance of independent grassroots media.

Philip Mirowski, joins me to discuss why the Covid-19 pandemic is more opportunity than threat to neoliberals and whether - as in the wake of the financial crisis - neoliberal doctrines will survive, and even thrive in the wake of the coronavirus-induced global economic crisis. We also discussed how Philip defines neoliberalism and why the worst political and economic consequences of the Covid-19 crisis are yet to come.

Narges Bajoghli and Arron Merat join me to discuss the coronavirus crisis in Iran, what the Covid-19 pandemic means for the stability of the Iranian regime, how US sanctions have compounded the suffering of ordinary Iranians, and what relations between China and Iran might look like after the end of the lockdown.

#RedHacks returns with Joana Ramiro in conversation with Suzanne Wrack. They spoke about Suzanne's experience of entering journalism via architecture, football as a socialist sport and turning her passion into a career. You can listen to other episodes of #RedHacks here: https://soundcloud.com/poltheoryother/sets/redhacks