

The Regrettable Century
Chris, Kevin, Jason, & Ben
The old forms of the Left are moribund and the new forms are stupid. We're making a podcast that discusses the need to organize a Dialectical Pessimism and develop a salvage project capable of sparking a new workers' movement for socialism. A clean, honest, and unsentimental melancholy is required; we are cultivating one and would like to share it with you. “The challenge of modernity is to live without illusions and without becoming disillusioned. I’m a pessimist because of intelligence, but an optimist because of will.” -- Antonio Gramsci
Episodes
Mentioned books

Feb 26, 2024 • 7min
Patreon Preview -- Revolution by Enzo Traverso: Regrettable Book Club (Part VII: FinaIe)
Welcome to our seventh and FINAL reading group episode on Revolution: An Intellectual History, by Enzo Traverso. We had a lot of fun with this series and will be starting a new one soon. Head on over to the Discord if you would like to be involved. Special thanks to our comrade Connor at Autumn Brigade for our new intro music. Check his music out here: https://autumnbrigade.bandcamp.com/album/geist-ist-totTraverso, Enzo. 2021. Revolution : An Intellectual History. London ; New York: Verso.https://www.versobooks.com/products/2783-revolutionSend us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the showVisit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

Feb 20, 2024 • 1h 24min
One Plus One Is Three: The Poverty of "Third Campism"
As recovering Third Campists ourselves, we sit down to discuss the lingering problems that the third camp of Trotskyism has always had and how they are much dumber in their contemporary incarnation. Resignation from the Fourth International - Natalia Sedova Trotskyhttps://www.marxists.org/archive/sedova-natalia/1951/05/09.htm Against Campism, for International Working-Class Solidarity https://socialistforum.dsausa.org/issues/winter-2020/against-campism-for-international-working-class-solidarity/ The Third Camp, Socialism From Below, and the First Principle of Revolutionary Socialism https://newpol.org/issue_post/third-camp-socialism-below-and-first-principle-revolutionary-socialism/Libya’s revolution, U.S. intervention, and the left https://isreview.org/issue/77/libyas-revolution-us-intervention-and-left/index.html Ukraine and fetishising the anti-NATO call https://www.workersliberty.org/story/2022-05-04/ukraine-and-fetishising-anti-nato-call Like our theme song? Check out Autumn Brigade here! Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the showVisit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

Feb 5, 2024 • 1h 13min
UNLOCKED -- Victorious February: Lessons from the Czechoslovak Revolution (Czechoslovak Socialism Part I of III)
This is a Patreon episode that we recorded in April of 2022. We decided to post this on our main feed at the request of several of our patrons who said more people should hear it. Continuing in the spirit of our discussion about the synthesis of socialism from above and below, we decided to dive a bit deeper into a topic that we have referenced many times in passing. The liberal narrative about the revolution is that it was a coup carried out by the Soviet Union against the will of the Czechoslovak people, but a cursory glance at how the revolution unfolded reveals a much different tale. Czechoslovakia 1948- By Joseph Grim Feinberg in Jacobin Magazine The Czechoslovak Revolution- By Sir Robert Bruce Lockhart in Foreign Affairs Magazine Duchacek, Ivo. “The February Coup in Czechoslovakia.” World Politics2, no. 4 (1950): 511–32. https://doi.org/10.2307/2008933.Myant, Martin. Socialism and Democracy in Czechoslovakia: 1945 - 1948. Soviet and East European Studies 33. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1981.Music: Hej, slnko vychodí - (Hey, the sun is out) composed by Bartolomej Urbanec and sung in Slovak. Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the showVisit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

Feb 1, 2024 • 34min
Patreon Preview -- Boundless & Bottomless Seas: Dugin's 4th Political Theory (Part II)
Jason and Varn continue with their close reading of The Fourth Political Theory by Alexander Dugin. **This is a 30m preview of a 3 hour long episode**Check out Varn Vlog here:https://www.patreon.com/varnvlog/postsSend us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the showVisit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

Jan 25, 2024 • 9min
Preview -- From 78: Jason's Talk with Neil of Inform:Podcast
This episode of InForm:Podcast is a re-release and cross-post of an older interview done with From78 (of Lost Horizons fame). It was originally posted several lifetimes ago, in 2020, but has been re-released by InForm so we decided to promote it here.Go check out the full episode: https://www.surplusjouissance.com/inform-podcast/Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the showVisit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

Jan 23, 2024 • 1h 17min
The Boys Solve the Israel-Palestine "Conflict"
The podcast delves into the history and consequences of Zionism and highlights the exploitative nature of labor Zionism. It explores the connections between Zionism and other forms of colonialism, such as fascism and westward expansion, and discusses the ongoing genocide in Palestine. The podcast also explores the contradictions of labor Zionism and Kibbutzim, proposes solutions to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and discusses Chomsky's relationship with Epstein. It covers the pro-Palestinian anti-Zionist movement, opposition to Zionism in Europe, critiques of the Netanyahu government, and the impact of the Holocaust on the socialist movement.

Jan 15, 2024 • 15min
Patreon Preview -- Boundless & Bottomless Seas (Episode 0)
Varn and Jason discuss this new collaborative project "Boundless and Bottomless Seas" and discuss why talking about Dugin and his Fourth Political Theory is worth doing. This is episode was recorded before the first episode of the series and is meant to be a sort of primer and introduction to the project.Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the showVisit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

Jan 8, 2024 • 1h 28min
Wally B as a Vibe: Discussing Walter Benjamin with the Subjective Conditions Podcast
This week we've got a podcast that we recorded with Subjective Conditions a few months ago. This podcast deals with Walter Benjamin as a vibe and, in true Regrettable Century fashion, the discussion is guided by the World Spirit. Check out Subjective Conditions here:https://www.patreon.com/subjectiveconditions/postsCheck out Autumn Brigade here:https://autumnbrigade.bandcamp.com/album/geist-ist-totSend us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the showVisit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

Jan 4, 2024 • 30min
Patreon Preview -- Boundless and Bottomless Seas: Dugin's 4th Political Theory (Part I)
Sean KB from the Antifada joins Jason and Varn for a new series that examines the work of right wing thinkers. This week they are discussing the first chapter of Alexander Dugin's, 'The Fourth Political Theory' to break down and understand why people from all over the political spectrum are influenced by this seminal work of post-fascist thought. **This is a 30m preview of a 2.5 hour long episode**Send us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the showVisit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop

Jan 1, 2024 • 6min
Patreon Preview -- Revolution by Enzo Traverso: Regrettable Book Club (Part VI)
This preview is from our sixth reading group episode on Revolution: An Intellectual History, by Enzo Traverso. This week we discuss different conceptions of freedom, liberation, and the liberation of time. This was supposed to be the final episode, but it looks like we will have to do one more... Special thanks to our comrade Connor at Autumn Brigade for our new intro music. Check his music out here: https://autumnbrigade.bandcamp.com/album/geist-ist-totTraverso, Enzo. 2021. Revolution : An Intellectual History. London ; New York: Verso https://www.versobooks.com/products/2783-revolutionSend us a message (sorry we can't respond on here). Support the showVisit the Regrettable Century Merch Shop