PODCAST

Left Anchor

Ryan Cooper & Alexi the Greek

Philosophy, politics, and the left.

news politics

All Episodes

01:06:43

Four Futures Revisited - 353 UNLOCKED

Left Anchor ·

2025/07/09

Back in 2011 Peter Frase wrote an article for Jacobin called "Four Futures," later turned into a book, speculating about how politics and the economy might evolve in the future as automation progresses. The four possibilities, outlined in broad strokes, are: communism, rentism, socialism, and exterminism. Fourteen years on, how have his predictions borne out, with the rise of global temperatures, green energy, and artificial intelligence?

01:09:32

How Zohran Did It - 358

Left Anchor ·

2025/06/29

Today we’ve got New York City politics expert Michael Caley on to discuss how Zohran Mamdani managed to assemble a coalition that bested Andrew Cuomo—where did he rack up big margins and why, how did Cuomo’s campaign fail, and what does it mean?Check out Michael’s Substack here, and Michael Lange’s voting analysis here.

01:12:02

Liberal Socialism?? - 357

Left Anchor ·

2025/06/21

Today we have Dr. Matthew McManus on to discuss his book The Political Theory of Liberal Socialism. It turns out that there is an extensive tradition of socialism emerging out of classical liberal theory in the 19th century that is clearly relevant for today. What can modern leftists learn from John Stuart Mill, Mary Wollstonecraft, John Rawls, and many others? Listen to find out.

08:48

Israel's War on Iran - 356 PREVIEW

Left Anchor ·

2025/06/18

Today we've got Derek Davison of the Foreign Exchanges newsletter and American Prestige podcast on to talk about Israel's sweeping attack on Iran. What is happening and why, how much has each side suffered, and is there a chance that the U.S. might get involved? It doesn't look good.Check out Kerry Howley's essay on Pete Hegseth here. Subscribe now to hear the whole episode!

10:14

The Kaleckian Moment in 2024 - 355 PREVIEW

Left Anchor ·

2025/06/06

Back in 1943 the Polish economist Michał Kalecki published one of the all-time great essays about political economy, “The Political Aspects of Full Employment.” We dig into his argument and how it holds up applied to the 2024 election. Then we turn to an essay in Spectre Journal called “‘Experience’ as the Best Teacher” by Vanessa Wills about the intellectual approach (or lack thereof) of Joe Rogan, and what it reveals about his class position.Subscribe now to hear the whole episode!

01:09:40

Elon Is Out—Or Is He? - 354

Left Anchor ·

2025/05/30

Today we are talking Elon Musk’s alleged retreat from DOGE, the ungodly horrors he has unleashed in that time, and why someone would commit such evil. Then we move on to Trump’s loss in tariff court, his prospects at the Supreme Court, the lie about “white genocide” in South Africa, and what’s going on in Gaza and Ukraine.Check out Ryan’s piece on Musk leaving here, David Dayen’s piece on Trump’s tariff smackdown here, and the documentary series on Larry Krasner here.

07:02

Four Futures Revisited - 353 PREVIEW

Left Anchor ·

2025/05/24

01:05:40

A New Left Economics? - 352

Left Anchor ·

2025/05/17

Today we have economist and YouTuber Cahal Moran on to talk about his book Why We're Getting Poorer: A Realist’s Guide to the Economy and How We Can Fix It. We discuss what the economics profession has learned since 2008, what lessons the left can learn from it, why lefty YouTubers seem to be rather weak in this area, and more. Enjoy!

13:14

Silicon Valley Brain Rot - 351 PREVIEW

Left Anchor ·

2025/05/10

Subscribe now to hear the whole episode!

59:21

Empty Shelves Are Coming - 350

Left Anchor ·

2025/05/04

Today we've got David Dayen on to talk about the big Apple decision limiting fees on the company's app store, and then the building supply disruptions thanks to Trump's tariffs, which look to be comparable to what happened during the pandemic. Gulp.

04:57

Whiskey Pete - 349 PREVIEW

Left Anchor ·

2025/04/24

Subscribe now to hear the full episode!

01:06:21

Stonks - 348

Left Anchor ·

2025/04/12

What the heck is going on with the economy and the markets? We've got financial expert George Pearkes on to discuss tariffs, stocks, whether the bond market is blowing up, and the economy writ large.

21:09

Late Star Trek - 347 PREVIEW

Left Anchor ·

2025/04/03

Today we are speaking with professor Adam Kotsko about his new book Late Star Trek: The Final Frontier in the Franchise Era. Why Trek so successful and beloved through the 1990s, why have the recent shows struggled to recapture the magic, and how does that relate to changing dynamics in the entertainment industry? Subscribe now to hear the whole thing!

58:14

Abundance Incoherence - 345

Left Anchor ·

2025/03/28

Today we have Matt Bruenig of the People's Policy Project, NLRB Edge, and The Bruenigs podcast on to talk about Ezra Klein's and Derek Thompson's book Abundance. We discuss the strengths and accuracies of the book, but also where it turns squirrelly, why it's gotten so much attention, and the suspicious cast of characters behind it. Check out Matt's review of the book here.

30:29

How the Union Movement Can Rebuild - 345 EXCERPT

Left Anchor ·

2025/03/23

Today we are talking with Professor Eric Blanc about his book We Are the Union: How Worker-to-Worker Organizing Is Revitalizing Labor and Winning Big. It's all about how innovative organizers have managed to unionize some highly dispersed workplaces like Starbucks, but also how institutional labor unions have failed to take advantage of that knowledge. We also discuss what labor should do given the Trump administration's unprecedented threat to labor power as such.Check out Eric's Substack here. As

01:02:23

Trump's Assault on Universities - 344

Left Anchor ·

2025/03/18

Today we are bringing back David Austin Walsh to talk about the Trump/Musk attack on American higher education--not just DEI programs, but advanced science and research of any kind. Why are they doing this and what damage will it cause? Check out David's book Taking America Back: The Conservative Movement and the Far Right here, our previous interview with him here, and Chuck Schumer's ridiculous interview with The New York Times here.

01:11:49

The Power of Propaganda with Hannah Arendt - 220...

Left Anchor ·

2025/03/08

Ryan is on vacation this week, so here's an episode from the archives.Today we're discussing the article "Truth and Politics" by Hannah Arendt. We talk about her idea that truth has both a weakness and a power to it, what the Herman Cain Award subreddit tells us about the power of propaganda, Joe Rogan getting owned on his own show, why Bernie Sanders is better at science communication than the CDC, and more. Enjoy!

54:09

The Failure of Constitutional Theory - 343

Left Anchor ·

2025/03/01

Today we are talking to Harvard Law Professor Mark Tushnet about his book Who Am I to Judge: Judicial Craft versus Constitution Theory. It’s common today for Supreme Court justices to outline a theory of constitutional interpretation, but it turns out that not only is this dishonest, but also something that only developed in the late 20th century. Enjoy!The Ian Toll book series Ryan mentions can be found here.

10:23

The Biggest Asshole in History PREVIEW

Left Anchor ·

2025/02/21

Today we are discussing the book Assholes: A Theory, by Aaron James. It turns out there are important distinctions between the asshole, the douchebag, the jerk, and the psychopath, and they are highly relevant to the men (they are usually men) running the American government.Subscribe now to hear the whole thing!

59:41

The Tech Oligarch Consent Machine - 341

Left Anchor ·

2025/02/13

This time we've got Eoin Higgins on to talk about his book Owned: How Tech Billionaires on the Right Bought the Loudest Voices on the Left. He uses Glenn Greenwald and Matt Taibbi as case studies in how shifting monetary incentives created by tech oligarchs like Peter Thiel and Marc Andreessen combined with certain personal pathologies turned formerly respected progressive journalists into right-wing blowhards.Coincidentally, Ryan also made videos on both Greenwald and Taibbi, which make for a nice

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