Jacobin Radio

Jacobin

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Politics
Updated weekly

News, politics, history and more from Jacobin. Featuring The Dig, Long Reads, Confronting Capitalism, Behind the News, Jacobin Radio with Suzi Weissman, and occasional specials.

10 hr ago

Long Reads: Trillion Dollar Baby w/ Quinn Slobodian and Ben Tarnoff (Part 1)

Elon Musk became the world’s first trillionaire last week after the record-breaking IPO of his company SpaceX. Musk presents the firm’s economic take off as the necessary means to a wider end for humanity, to become a multi-planetary species. “That’s what SpaceX is all about,” Musk recently said at the company’s headquarters. “To take the fiction out of science fiction.” While Musk was looking to the stars, the people of Belfast were still reeling from several days of racist violence. The Belfast pogrom drew strength from the far-right ecosystem that Musk has nurtured with the money from SpaceX, Tesla, and other companies. Musk himself repeatedly called for anti-immigrant protests and boosted the messaging of Britain’s neofascist right. His social-media platform generated the atmosphere of a frenzied lynch mob. Over two episodes, Long Reads will explore the two sides of Elon Musk and his impact on the world. Our guests are Quinn Slobodian and Ben Tarnoff, authors of Muskism: A Guide for the Perplexed. This interview was conducted a few days before the SpaceX IPO. Long Reads is a Jacobin podcast looking in-depth at political topics and thinkers, both contemporary and historical, with the magazine’s writers. Hosted by features editor Daniel Finn. Produced by Conor Gillies with music by Knxwledge.

49 min
1 day ago

Jacobin Radio: The People’s World Cup

The show’s co-producers Alan Minsky and Meleiza Figueroa fill in for Suzi with a special installment of their quadrennial podcast series, The People’s Game⁠, which covers the world's most popular spectacle from a socialist internationalist perspective. Alan and Mel talk with their fellow People’s Game co-host Fernando Romero about, well, “everything” going on in the world. How surreal it feels to be passionate fans of the beloved global game when the political circumstances inside the World Cup’s primary host country are so fraught and dire for so many people inside and outside US borders. Fernando Romero is beaming! We spoke with him on the eve of his journey to Mexico. First stop is Mexico City for the opening game, then onto Guadalajara and Monyterrey, all three World Cup cities in Mexico. We then speak with Thomas Hanna from the Democracy Collaborative, a longtime fan and player, about the problems — and potential — for the people’s game as a vehicle for democracy rather than capitalism. As a fútbol fan, Thomas mirrors his work with the Democracy Collaborative, which advocates for worker ownership of businesses and industry, and assists worker-led efforts to own and control their workplaces. Thomas helps organize a growing global movement for fans to own their favorite clubs. Jacobin Radio with Suzi Weissman features conversations with leading thinkers and activists, with a focus on labor, the economy, and protest movements.

1hr 26min
2 days ago

Behind the News: Why the Right Hates Theory w/ Moira Weigel

J.W. Mason and Arjun Jayadev, authors of the new book Against Money, explain that curious stuff and enumerate its problems. Moira Weigel, author of a recent article for the journal October, takes a look at why the right hates theory. Behind the News, hosted by Doug Henwood, covers the worlds of economics and politics and their complex interactions, from the local to the global.

53 min
3 days ago

The Dig: Nusantara Ep. 5 — Armed Conflicts, Guided Democracy

The fifth episode in a series on the history of Indonesia: a hinge in the world system where colonialism and revolution have decisively shaped the trajectory of global history. This installment traces the armed conflicts—civil wars and then confrontations with the Dutch and British — that propelled Indonesia into Sukarno’s authoritarian Guided Democracy system and cascading economic crisis. Both the military and the Communist Party of Indonesia (PKI) became increasingly powerful forces on the eve of 1965–when the armed forces would slaughter the communists and inaugurate Suharto’s New Order. Featuring Rianne Subijanto, Made Supriatma, and Farabi Fakih. Support The Dig at Patreon.com/TheDig Register for the Socialism Conference by June 19th for the early bird rate! Socialismconference.org Get 50% off Backlash: The Global Rise of the Radical Right , or any first book purchase from plutobooks.com with code ‘DIG50’ The Dig goes deep into politics everywhere, from labor struggles and political economy to imperialism and immigration. Hosted by Daniel Denvir.

2h 9m
10 Jun

Confronting Capitalism: Who Counts as a Worker?

In the midst of Graham Platner’s high-profile senate race in Maine, several media commentators jumped on whether he would fit within his own definition of the working class. Do we know how to pick out workers from other classes? And what bearing does this have for socialist politics? On the latest episode of Confronting Capitalism, Vivek Chibber and Melissa Naschek offer a full definition of who’s in the working class, how to understand the modern US class structure, and why workers are central to left political strategy. The latest issue of Catalyst is out, and you can subscribe for just $20 using the code CONFRONTINGCAPITALISM: https://catalyst-journal.com/subscribe/?code=CONFRONTINGCAPITALISM Have a question for us? Write to us by email: confronting.capitalism@jacobin.com Confronting Capitalism with Vivek Chibber is produced by Catalyst: A Journal of Theory and Strategy and published by Jacobin. Music by Zonkey.

47 min
8 Jun

The Dig: Primary Struggle w/ Troy Jackson

Featuring Maine candidate for governor Troy Jackson, Wisconsin candidate for governor Francesca Hong, New York State Senate candidate Aber Kawas, and victorious Tempe, Arizona City Council candidate Bobby Nichols. The third episode in a series of short interviews with left-wing and socialist candidates at every level of US politics. Support The Dig at Patreon.com/TheDig Our huge new Thawra study guide and resource website thawraproject.com Dan and Thea’s Berlin event: “Trump 2.0 and the Rebirth of the American Left.” June 12, 6pm at Technische Universität Berlin (TU Berlin) in room EB 202 of the Erweiterungsbau (Straße des 17. Juni 145, 10623 Berlin). Part of the Take Back the Future conference hosted by Socialist Democratic Student League, the campus affiliate of Die Linke. Followed by drinks with Dig listeners and friends of the pod. Register for the Socialism Conference by June 19th for the early bird rate! Socialismconference.org Find Unpaid at Versobooks.com The Dig goes deep into politics everywhere, from labor struggles and political economy to imperialism and immigration. Hosted by Daniel Denvir.

1hr 32min
5 Jun

Long Reads: Mohammed Harbi and the Algerian Revolution w/ Muriam Davis

On January 1 this year, Mohammed Harbi died at the age of 92. Harbi was one of the leading historians of modern Algeria and the movement that led it towards independence. Harbi began writing about the Algerian revolution after taking part in it himself. Born under French colonial rule, Harbi became a member of the National Liberation Front in the 1950s. He was an adviser to Algeria’s first president, Ahmed Ben Bella. But Harbi was sent to prison after Ben Bella was removed from power in a military coup. He later escaped from house arrest and went into exile. Harbi remained deeply engaged with political events inside the country, from the civil war of the 1990s to the hirak protest movement of the last decade. Muriam Haleh Davis joins Long Reads for a discussion of Harbi’s life and work. Muriam is a professor of history at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She’s the author of Markets of Civilization: Islam and Racial Capitalism in Algeria. Read her obituary for Jacobin, “Mohammed Harbi Was Algeria’s Revolutionary Historian”: https://jacobin.com/2026/02/mohammed-harbi-algeria-historian-obituary Long Reads is a Jacobin podcast looking in-depth at political topics and thinkers, both contemporary and historical, with the magazine’s writers. Hosted by features editor Daniel Finn. Produced by Conor Gillies with music by Knxwledge.

1hr 6min
3 Jun

The Dig: Nusantara Ep. 4 — Indonesian Republic, Third World Revolution

The fourth episode in a series on the history of Indonesia: a hinge in the world system where colonialism and revolution have decisively shaped the trajectory of global history. This installment picks up with the Indonesian Revolution securing sovereignty from the Dutch in 1949. The Communist of Party of Indonesia, or PKI, revived after its repression to once again become a mass force in politics and society. All while Sukarno put Indonesia at the vanguard of global Third World revolution, hosting the legendary Bandung Afro–Asian Conference. Featuring Rianne Subijanto, Made Supriatma, and Farabi Fakih. Support The Dig at Patreon.com/TheDig Dan’s Berlin event: “Trump 2.0 and the Rebirth of the American Left.” June 12, 6pm at Technische Universität Berlin (TU Berlin) in room EB 202 of the Erweiterungsbau (Straße des 17. Juni 145, 10623 Berlin). Part of the Take Back the Future conference hosted by Socialist Democratic Student League, the campus affiliate of Die Linke. Followed by drinks with Dig listeners and friends of the pod. For drink details come to the talk or keep an eye on The Dig’s Instagram @thedigradio. Our huge new Thawra study guide and resource website thawraproject.com Find Unpaid at Versobooks.com Get 50% off From the Clinics to the Streets, or any first book purchase from plutobooks.com with code ‘DIG50’ The Dig goes deep into politics everywhere, from labor struggles and political economy to imperialism and immigration. Hosted by Daniel Denvir.

1hr 60min

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Muriam Davis

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Melat Kiros

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Matthew Lawrence

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Erika Uyterhoeven

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Conrad Blackburn

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Janeese Lewis George

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Laleh Khalili

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Mouin Rabbani

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News, politics, history and more from Jacobin. Featuring The Dig, Long Reads, Confronting Capitalism, Behind the News, Jacobin Radio with Suzi Weissman, and occasional specials.