Diet Soap - a podcast
Douglas Lain
The Diet Soap podcast began in 2009 in response to the economic crisis of 2008. Since then it has gone through many transformations, including becoming the podcast for a critical theory imprint out of the UK. Today the Diet Soap podcast is running under its original name for Sublation Media.Sublation Media includes a book publishing effort for critical theory and left politics, a magazine that covers current events and theoretical issues, youtube videos on theory and politics, and finally the Diet Soap podcast. The podcast is where we continue to interrogate the left and each other while having a good time.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Apr 28, 2025 • 1h 5min
Episode 634: Shibboleths, Customs, and Lies
Thomas Peermohamed Lambert discusses his novel, Shibboleth, with Nina Power and Douglas Lain in the Culture Corner. What does it mean to go to Oxford? What is the future of the elites and elite education? Can you find love on campus?Support Sublation Mediahttps://patreon.com/dietsoap
Apr 25, 2025 • 1h 22min
Episode 633: What did Marx think about the American Civil War?
In this week's Spencer Leonard Hour, he discusses the meaning of the Civil War in relation to the struggle for socialism.Support Sublation Media on Patreonhttps://patreon.com/dietsoap
Apr 24, 2025 • 1h 15min
Episode 632: Trump's Tariffs Are Smart?
Chris Cutrone discusses just what the aim of Trump's Tariffs might be. Will there be a new global order with the US still at the center? What does it mean to say that the United States is "FREE"? Is Trump just an idiot? Support Sublation Mediahttps://patreon.com/dietsoap
Apr 21, 2025 • 1h 9min
Episode 631: Tariffs, First Amendement, and Due Process
Benjamin Studebaker and Douglas Lain discuss Trump's Tariffs, the attacks of law firms such as Perkins Coie, and how the deportations of MS-13 gang members undermine Due Process. Support Sublation Media:https://patreon.com/dietsoap
Apr 18, 2025 • 1h 5min
Episode 630: Understanding the Marxist Revisionism Dispute
William Stratford discusses the dialectics and the revisionism dispute. What lessons can we learn from it today, after the long defeat of the 20th century and the Millennial left? Support Sublation Mediahttps://patreon.com/dietsoap
Apr 17, 2025 • 51min
Episode 629: Do Young Americans Have a Manifest Destiny?
Hamilton Craig is a Compact columnist and a doctoral student at CUNY researching farmers’ movements in the United States. In this episode of Diet Soap, he discusses his recent essay for Compact entitled "The Democratic Promise of Manifest Destiny" with Douglas Lain and tries to consider just how seriously to take Trump's effort to revitalize and reinvent our Manifest Destiny and discuss Cutrone's essay "The Future Belongs to America. So Should Greenland."Support Sublation Media:https://patreon.com/dietsoap"The Democratic Promise of Manifest Destiny" - Hamilton Craighttps://www.compactmag.com/article/the-democratic-promise-of-manifest-destiny/
8 snips
Apr 11, 2025 • 1h 27min
Episode 628: Trump is ENDING Neoliberalism as the Left WATCHES
Chris Cutrone, a member of the Platypus Affiliated Society and a keen analyst of Marxist theory, joins to explore the end of neoliberalism through the lens of Trump's policies. They discuss the evolving definitions of labor post-2008 and how political leaders often miss the realities faced by workers. Cutrone dissects the strategic intent behind Trump’s tariffs, the relationship between socialist ideals and capitalism, and the complex landscape of modern leftist politics. They also touch on the implications of technology on society and the shifting dynamics of cultural sincerity.
Apr 7, 2025 • 60min
Episode 627: Experiencing the Symptoms of the Left
Benjamin Studebaker, a PhD holder in Politics from the University of Cambridge and author, joins in a thought-provoking discussion. They reflect on their experiences at the Platypus Affiliated Society convention, tackling what neoliberalism truly means. The conversation navigates the demise of Cold War ideologies and the evolving leftist discourse, emphasizing the need for proactive political engagement. Additionally, they explore the impact of automation on the workforce and question the millennial left's views on civil society, advocating for meaningful dialogue in today's political landscape.
Apr 3, 2025 • 1h 36min
Episode 626: Horkheimer on Reason, Egoism, and Freedom
Spencer Leonard discusses the Frankfurt School's Marxism, how these Marxists are still relevant to us today, and explains Horkheimer's "Egoism and Freedom Movements: On the Anthropology of the Bourgeois Epoch." Support Sublation Media and Listen to the Second Half:https://patreon.com/dietsoap
Mar 21, 2025 • 54min
Episode 625: From FAKE NEWS to a FAKE WORLD
David Shields, author of "How We Got Here," returns to discuss how Trump has destroyed our reality and how our sensemaking institutions are in crisis. How can we educate ourselves and get a grip on the world if everything is FAKE NEWS?Get a copy of Shield's book "How We Got Here"https://sublationmedia.com/product/how-we-got-here-melville-plus-nietzsche-divided-by-the-square-root-of-allan-bloom-times-zizek-squared-equals-bannon-by-david-shields/Support Sublation Mediahttps://patreon.com/dietsoap
