Diet Soap - a podcast

What is American conservatism, and how should socialists understand it? In this interview, Wyatt Verlen offers a historical overview of conservatism in the United States, from the Bourbon Democrats and Robert Taft to William F. Buckley and the rise of the New Right. We explore how conservatism evolved in response to the Progressive Era, the New Deal, and the Cold War, and examine the role of political machines, laissez-faire ideology, and anti-communism in shaping the American right. This is a conversation about history, ideology, and strategy through a socialist lens.Support Sublation Mediahttps://patreon.com/dietsoap

Chris Cutrone explains why the left needs to abandon the liberal conception of "Bonapartism" and take up a Marxist understanding instead. Bonapartism is not Bonaparte at the Platypus Reviewhttps://platypus1917.org/2025/06/01/bonapartism-is-not-bonaparte/Support Sublation Mediahttps://patreon.com/dietsoap

Stanley Sharpey is a writer and a socialist living in London. His essay for Sublation Magazine, "The Discreet Charm of the PMC" explains the history of the term and ends up sympathizing with the Ehrenreichs given the political dilemma they faced in the 1970s.The Discreet Charm of the PMC at Sublation Magazinehttps://www.sublationmag.com/post/the-discreet-charm-of-the-pmcSupport Sublation Mediahttps://patreon.com/dietsoap

Spencer Leonard discusses the meaning of the term "Historical Materialism," and how it emerged through the historical struggle for socialism. Support Sublation Mediahttps://patreon.com/dietsoap

Benjamin Studebaker and Douglas Lain discuss Adorno's essay "Commitment" and the failure of leftist politics over the last decade. What level of regression can we expect?Support Sublation Mediahttps://patreon.com/dietsoap

In this episode of the CutroneZone, we dive deep into Chris Cutrone’s essay "On Philosophy and Marxism: Response to Suther and Velissaris"—a characteristically sharp and mournful defense of the dialectic against the return to philosophy. As always, Cutrone’s critique is uncompromising, clear, provocative, and melancholic.Support Sublation Media on Patreonhttps://patreon.com/dietsoap

Philip Cunliffe discusses his recent essay at COMPACT entitled "How Trump Won the Canadian Election." He explains what constitutes sovereignty, why sovereignty is necessary for democracy, and why Trump turned Canada away from cosmopolitan internationalism and towards patriotic nationalism.Philip Cunliffe at Compacthttps://www.compactmag.com/article/how-trump-won-the-canadian-election/Support Sublation Mediahttps://patreon.com/dietsoap

Fabio Vighi returns to throw cold water on the notion that capitalism can be saved. The crisis is terminal. The financialization will continue. In this era of Emergency Capitalism, the crisis will only deepen in the US, in Europe, and in China.Support Sublaton Mediahttps:/patreon.com/dietsoap

Ashley Frawley is senior editor of Compact. She is the author of two books, Semiotics of Happiness: Rhetorical Beginnings of a Public Problem and Significant Emotions: Rhetoric and Social Problems in a Vulnerable Age. Her writing has appeared in UnHerd, and the New Statesman. She is also the former co-host of Sublation Magazine and in this episode she returns to discuss her latest essay in Compact.How Society Got a Sex Change by Ashley Frawleyhttps://www.compactmag.com/contributor/ashley-frawley/Support Sublation Mediahttps://patreon.com/dietsoap

Benjamin Studebaker and Douglas Lain discuss Benjamin Studebaker's latest essay for Sublation Magazine in this week's Sublation Magazine podcast. Are the Republicans and especially Trump, acting in an anti-democratic manner? What threatens democracy today?Support Sublation Media and Join the Conversation:https://patreon.com/dietsoap