Rev Left Radio

Revolutionary Left Radio

Discussing political philosophy, current events, activism, and the inevitable historical downfall of capitalism from a revolutionary leftist perspective.

  1. 4 hr ago

    Philosophy of Mind: Marxism, Materialism, and Dialectical Monism

    In this episode, Breht O'Shea and Alyson Escalante join forces for a deep philosophical conversation on Marxism, consciousness, and the mind-body problem. Using China Miéville's essay on consciousness and materialism as a starting point, they explore why the nature of subjective experience remains such a profound challenge for crude or reductionist forms of materialism -- and why this question matters for Marxists. Alyson begins by carefully summarizing Miéville's original essay and its challenge to conventional Marxist materialism. From there, Breht lays out several major positions in the philosophy of mind, including dualism, physicalism, idealism, panpsychism, neutral monism, emergentism, eliminativism, and epiphenomenalism. Together, they then work through two responses to Miéville's essay, clarifying the arguments, tensions, and stakes of the debate. In the second half, Breht argues for a different approach: a dialectical monism informed by dependent origination. Rather than reducing consciousness to matter, escaping into idealism, or treating mind and matter as separate substances, this view understands reality as a single, dynamic, relational process in which consciousness, embodiment, nature, society, and practice arise interdependently. The conversation closes by bringing Buddhist philosophy and phenomenology into dialogue with Marxism, exploring emptiness, experience, nonduality, and the limits of conceptual thought. What emerges is not a rejection of materialism, but a call to deepen it -- beyond reductionism, beyond dualism, and toward a more dialectical understanding of consciousness & reality. Find Fluss and Frim's response (Their Materialism and Ours) to Mieville HERE Find Pineda's response (Naturalized Dialectics) to Mieville HERE ---------------------------------------------------- Support Rev Left and get access to bonus episodes: www.patreon.com/revleftradio Make a one-time donation to Rev Left at BuyMeACoffee.com/revleftradio Follow, Subscribe, & Learn more about Rev Left Radio https://revleftradio.com/

    2h 4m
  2. 5 days ago

    Understanding Sudan: Revolution, Civil War, and the Fight for the Future

    In this episode, Breht sits down with Mohamed Khougali, author of Politically Unconscious: The Psychic Aftermath of the Sudanese Revolution (Iskra Books) for a sweeping and deeply illuminating conversation on Sudanese history, revolution, counterrevolution, and the current catastrophe unfolding in Sudan. Together, they discuss the 2018–19 Sudanese Revolution, how it erupted, what forces animated it, his direct participation in it, how it was contained, and what its aftermath reveals about the dynamics of counter-revolution and co-optation. Mohamed also walks us through the history of the revolutionary left in Sudan, from the period after independence through the rise and repression of the Sudanese Communist Party, and the weakened but still significant state of the Left today. Along the way, we touch on the civil war, Darfur, the RSF, the unfathomable human suffering and staggering acts of brutality taking place in Sudan, and why revolutionaries everywhere need a much deeper understanding of this country, its people, and its unfinished struggle for liberation. Politically Unconscious: The Psychic Aftermath of the Sudanese Revolution is Mohamed Khougali's reflection on what it means to organize and think after a revolution has been usurped. Written as both a participant in Sudan's 2018-19 uprising and a working psychotherapist, Khougali weaves together a history of the Sudanese Left, an account of the current war and the racialized financialization that informed the various factions, alongside the development of a new clinical modality he calls "praxis psychotherapy." Refusing the reductive binaries of international media coverage and the moral puritanism he sees paralyzing contemporary leftist thought, Khougali argues that Sudan cannot be understood apart from a longer "irrational revolution" linking Khartoum to Darfur, and Sudan to Palestine, through the same circuits of imperial accumulation and waste. At once political history and clinical experiment, Politically Unconscious is a work with lessons for comrades involved in the struggle; in Sudan, and far beyond. Check Out Mohamed's podcast Black Radicals HERE   Follow Black Radicals on Instagram HERE     Outro music: Lunch Break by spinitch ---------------------------------------------------- Support Rev Left and get access to bonus episodes: www.patreon.com/revleftradio Make a one-time donation to Rev Left at BuyMeACoffee.com/revleftradio Follow, Subscribe, & Learn more about Rev Left Radio https://revleftradio.com/

    1hr 60min
  3. 2 Jun

    On Lebanon: Hezbollah, Faith, and the Struggle Against Zionism and Imperialism

    Myriam Charabaty, a Lebanese political analyst and journalist, joins Breht for a wide-ranging discussion on Lebanon, the struggle against imperialism and Zionism, the nature of solidarity and resistance, and the rapidly shifting political landscape of West Asia. Drawing from both personal experience and political analysis, Myriam helps unpack the history, forces, and contradictions shaping the country while challenging many of the assumptions commonly found in Western media and political discourse. The conversation ranges from questions of sovereignty, faith, and national liberation to the human realities of war, occupation, and collective struggle. Along the way, Breht and Myriam explore the relationship between Christianity, Islam, and anti-imperialism, the criminal pager terrorist attack by Israel, what meaningful solidarity from those of us in the imperial core looks like, the role of Hezbollah in Lebanese society, the religious diversity within Lebanon, and the challenges facing those committed to self-determination and liberation in an era of deepening global crisis.   Follow Myriam and her work: X: https://x.com/miriam00961 Substack: https://substack.com/@myriamch Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/liberationchronicles?igsh=c2NnenNscG5uZ3Zn   ---------------------------------------------------- Check out our NEW REV LEFT MERCH with Goods For The People HERE Support Rev Left and get access to bonus episodes: www.patreon.com/revleftradio Make a one-time donation to Rev Left at BuyMeACoffee.com/revleftradio Follow, Subscribe, & Learn more about Rev Left Radio https://revleftradio.com/

    1hr 48min

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Discussing political philosophy, current events, activism, and the inevitable historical downfall of capitalism from a revolutionary leftist perspective.

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