Heart Reacts

Craig Gent and Sarah Jaffe
  • 4.9 (16)
  • RELATIONSHIPS
  • UPDATED SEMIMONTHLY

“Pessimism of the intellect, optimism of the feels.” We are HEART REACTS, an advice podcast for everyone trying to remain emotionally functional through the collapse of late capitalism. We’re here to answer all of the questions about love, friendship, family, and even work that you might want to ask two people who have spent adulthood trying to apply their radical political analysis, more or less successfully, to their personal lives. We are Craig Gent, a writer and researcher living in Leeds, and ⁠Sarah Jaffe⁠, a journalist and author based in New Orleans. You can send us your questions at www.askmeanything.cc/heartreacts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  1. JAN 26

    Episode 35: Patience is a Practice, with Kelly Hayes

    Welcome to HEART REACTS, an advice podcast for all of us trying to remain emotionally functional through the collapse of late capitalism.  This week is a special episode, so it's dropping on Monday. We're bringing you a very special guest, Menominee author, organizer, journalist, editor, podcaster, and friend of the show Kelly Hayes. Kelly is just out with a new book that she's edited, a collection of letters to comrades from comrades, for moments when the struggle feels hopeless. It's a form of advice book, and so we thought it would be a great time to get Kelly on to talk about her work, and her concept of "social deskilling," which has been so important to us here at Heart Reacts. Stuff We Talk About: Kelly Hayes, Read This When Things Fall Apart Kelly Hayes and Mariame Kaba, Let This Radicalize You Kelly Hayes: Organizing my Thoughts Kelly Hayes: Movement Memos Movement Memos: We Must Burst Our Algorithmic Bubbles and Build Together Across Difference (the Social Deskilling episode) Our social deskilling episode, if you missed it If Anyone Can Pull off a General Strike, It’s Minnesotans Is Marriage the Building Block of Society? Or Is It Neighbors? Chris Begley, The Next Apocalypse We are Craig Gent, a writer and researcher living in Leeds, and ⁠Sarah Jaffe⁠, a journalist and author based in London. Buy Craig's Book: Cyberboss Buy Sarah's Book: From the Ashes You can send us your questions at ⁠www.askmeanything.cc/heartreacts⁠. This episode was produced by, well, us! We apologize for any inconsistencies in audio quality. If you liked it and want to help keep us going, and help us improve our recording process, you can support us at ⁠patreon.com/HeartReacts⁠. You can subscribe to the show wherever you get podcasts, and please do rate us on those podcast apps! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1h 10m

  2. JAN 8

    E34 Episode 34: Specific Units of Emotionality

    Welcome to HEART REACTS, an advice podcast for all of us trying to remain emotionally functional through the collapse of late capitalism.  We're back, we survived the holidays, and we have some thoughts on emotional libertarianism to share with you. Some of you have asked what we mean by this term, which we've used occasionally, so we took the opportunity to dig into it a little bit. And then, we answer a question about what it means to be a romantic, anyway. We need your questions!! Send them to us at https://www.askmeanything.cc/heartreacts Also, Heart Reacts has its own Instagram now! Follow us, send us memes and ideas, leave us comments... Stuff We Talk About: Alexandra Kollontai, The Social Basis of the Female Question Michael Hardt “Red Love”  Ajay Singh Chaudhary, Sick and Tired Heat at 30: Michael Mann’s electric crime thriller is a film of fire and sadness Kelly Hayes, Read This When Things Fall Apart Marita Alonso, “Las mujeres piensan en el regalo que están dando. Los hombres no”: ¿hay una brecha de género en el arte de regalar? Diane Di Prima, Revolutionary Letter No 19 Before Sunrise review – Richard Linklater’s brief encounter defies romantic convention ‘Black Bag’ Is a Great Spy Thriller — and an Even Better Marriage Drama We are Craig Gent, a writer and researcher living in Leeds, and ⁠Sarah Jaffe⁠, a journalist and author based in London. Buy Craig's Book: Cyberboss Buy Sarah's Book: From the Ashes You can send us your questions at ⁠www.askmeanything.cc/heartreacts⁠. This episode was produced by, well, us! We apologize for any inconsistencies in audio quality. If you liked it and want to help keep us going, and help us improve our recording process, you can support us at ⁠patreon.com/HeartReacts⁠. You can subscribe to the show wherever you get podcasts, and please do rate us on those podcast apps! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1h 23m

  3. 12/12/2025

    Episode 33: I'm So In Love I Want a Baby That Has Your Face

    Welcome to HEART REACTS, an advice podcast for all of us trying to remain emotionally functional through the collapse of late capitalism.  Heart Reacts now has an Instagram! Follow the pod directly for faster updates and more relationship memes. This week, we check in about "chatfishing" and cognitive dissonance around AI, and then we consider whether or not (and how) to parent inside the coupled norm. Stuff We Talk About: This Hanukkah, Let’s Bring Back Judith Menorahs ‘I realised I’d been ChatGPT-ed into bed’: how ‘Chatfishing’ made finding love on dating apps even weirder Conversation on Workplace Trust with Sarah Mosseri Sarah: Interview with Emily Bender and Alex Hanna on The AI Con James Muldoon, Love Machines The right’s callous overdiagnosis bandwagon is rolling. Wes Streeting should not be on it Iron Ladies film Against The Grain: Archiving anarcho-punk Logic(s) Magazine Issue 23: Land (with Craig's article!) Jules Joanne Gleeson: This Infamous Proposal Sarah: Family Planning (review essay) Engels, "The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State" Madeline Lane-McKinley, Solidarity with Children Michèle Barrett and Mary McIntosh, The Anti-Social Family Angela Davis: Women and Capitalism:Dialectics of Oppression and Liberation David Collinson and Stephen Ackroyd, “Resistance, Misbehavior and Dissent” Dorinne K. Kondo, Crafting Selves: Power, Gender, and Discourses of Identity in a Japanese Workplace We are Craig Gent, a writer and researcher living in Leeds, and ⁠Sarah Jaffe⁠, a journalist and author based in London. Buy Craig's Book: Cyberboss Buy Sarah's Book: From the Ashes You can send us your questions at ⁠www.askmeanything.cc/heartreacts⁠. This episode was produced by, well, us! We apologize for any inconsistencies in audio quality. If you liked it and want to help keep us going, and help us improve our recording process, you can support us at ⁠patreon.com/HeartReacts⁠. You can subscribe to the show wherever you get podcasts, and please do rate us on those podcast apps! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1h 15m

  4. 11/28/2025

    Episode 32: Big Linklater Energy

    Welcome to HEART REACTS, an advice podcast for all of us trying to remain emotionally functional through the collapse of late capitalism.  We apologize for being late! Life, work, and the collapse of...well, you know, got in the way. But this week we talk once again about what to do when your union breaks your heart, and then spend a while considering how to avoid breaking someone else's. What do you do when communication on screens feels easier than communication face to face (and body to body)? Stuff We Talk About: Mattie Lubchansky comic Mark Fisher, Capitalist Realism Audre Lorde, The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master’s House Sarah, Worker Centers, Where Causes Cohere and Forge Power  Antonio Gramsci, “Americanism and Fordism” James W. Carey, Communication as Culture Walter Benjamin, “On the Concept of History” Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World The “Before” Trilogy We are Craig Gent, a writer and researcher living in Leeds, and ⁠Sarah Jaffe⁠, a journalist and author based in London. Buy Craig's Book: Cyberboss Buy Sarah's Book: From the Ashes You can send us your questions at ⁠www.askmeanything.cc/heartreacts⁠. This episode was produced by, well, us! We apologize for any inconsistencies in audio quality. If you liked it and want to help keep us going, and help us improve our recording process, you can support us at ⁠patreon.com/HeartReacts⁠. You can subscribe to the show wherever you get podcasts, and please do rate us on those podcast apps! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1h 6m

  5. 11/06/2025

    Episode 31: Everything is Embarrassing

    Welcome to HEART REACTS, an advice podcast for all of us trying to remain emotionally functional through the collapse of late capitalism.  This week, we're low on questions so we thought we'd talk to each other about a couple of viral relationship articles that are in productive tension. We poke at our ongoing discomfort with terminology, the still-brokenness of heterosexuality, and why caring about stuff is cool again. And then we answer a question about organizing, capacity, and crisis. We need your questions!! Send them to us at https://www.askmeanything.cc/heartreacts Stuff We Talk About: What Is “Chalance” and Why Is Everybody Looking for It on Dating Apps? Is Having A Boyfriend Embarrassing Now? Laura Mulvey, Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema W.E.B. Du Bois The Souls of Black Folk  bell hooks, All About Love Friedrich Engels, The Origin of the Family, Private Property, and the State Alyssa Battistoni, Free Gifts: Capitalism and the Politics of Nature Radical Emprints: Fight With the Tools that are Uniquely Yours We are Craig Gent, a writer and researcher living in Leeds, and ⁠Sarah Jaffe⁠, a journalist and author based in London. Buy Craig's Book: Cyberboss Buy Sarah's Book: From the Ashes You can send us your questions at ⁠www.askmeanything.cc/heartreacts⁠. This episode was produced by, well, us! We apologize for any inconsistencies in audio quality. If you liked it and want to help keep us going, and help us improve our recording process, you can support us at ⁠patreon.com/HeartReacts⁠. You can subscribe to the show wherever you get podcasts, and please do rate us on those podcast apps! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1h 7m

  6. 10/20/2025

    Episode 30: Down with Ambiguity

    Welcome to HEART REACTS, an advice podcast for all of us trying to remain emotionally functional through the collapse of late capitalism.  This week, we're yet again talking about the trials and travails of organizing with other messy humans, and the importance of clarity in both romantic and organizational relationships. (And a sidebar about how much Sarah hates the term "situationship.") Stuff We Talk About: Lynne Segal, Straight Sex Lynne Segal, Slow Motion: Changing Masculinities and Changing Men Mariame Kaba and Shira Hassan, Fumbling Towards Repair: A Workbook for Community Accountability Practitioners Just Practice collaborative Paolo Gerbaudo, The Digital Party Jane McAlevey, Raising Expectations and Raising Hell The dearly departed Big Mood, Little Mood podcast Sarah: The Radical Organizing that Paved the Way for LA's Teachers' Strike Diane Di Prima: Revolutionary Letter #8 (online) and Revolutionary Letters (book) We are Craig Gent, a writer and researcher living in Leeds, and ⁠Sarah Jaffe⁠, a journalist and author based in London. Buy Craig's Book: Cyberboss Buy Sarah's Book: From the Ashes You can send us your questions at ⁠www.askmeanything.cc/heartreacts⁠. This episode was produced by, well, us! We apologize for any inconsistencies in audio quality. If you liked it and want to help keep us going, and help us improve our recording process, you can support us at ⁠patreon.com/HeartReacts⁠. You can subscribe to the show wherever you get podcasts, and please do rate us on those podcast apps! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1h 4m

  7. 10/03/2025

    Episode 29: Let the People who Love You Love You

    Welcome to HEART REACTS, an advice podcast for all of us trying to remain emotionally functional through the collapse of late capitalism. This week, we add some thoughts to our Your Party-related answer from last episode, in light of the latest news, and then we address a question about how to accept and give care. How to balance our own needs and wants, give and take, when the very means of survival are privatized? Stuff We Talk About: Archie Woodrow, "Your Party’s Messy Public Breakdown Shows It Has Big Questions to Answer" Sarah: “You Have To Shake Up the Status Quo”: Marilyn Sneiderman’s Struggle To Transform Labor Rodrigo Nunes, Neither Vertical Nor Horizontal Keir Milbun, Bertie Russell, Kai Heron, Radical Abundance Helen Hester and Nick Srnicek, After Work Mariame Kaba and Shira Hassan, From “Me Too” to “All of Us”: Organizing to End Sexual Violence, Without Prisons Axel Honneth, Reification: A New Look at an Old Idea Premilla Nadasen, Care: the Highest Stage of Capitalism Melinda Cooper on The Dig, Counterrevolution David Graeber, Debt: The First 5000 Years We are Craig Gent, a writer and researcher living in Leeds, and ⁠Sarah Jaffe⁠, a journalist and author based in London. Buy Craig's Book: Cyberboss Buy Sarah's Book: From the Ashes You can send us your questions at ⁠www.askmeanything.cc/heartreacts⁠. This episode was produced by, well, us! We apologize for any inconsistencies in audio quality. If you liked it and want to help keep us going, and help us improve our recording process, you can support us at ⁠patreon.com/HeartReacts⁠. You can subscribe to the show wherever you get podcasts, and please do rate us on those podcast apps! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1h 3m

  8. 09/17/2025

    Episode 28: Hope is Social

    Welcome to HEART REACTS, an advice podcast for all of us trying to remain emotionally functional through the collapse of late capitalism.  In response to a question about the new left party formation in Britain, we think about hope, and organizing, and what kinds of movements we'll need to make it through this bleak political time. Rodrigo Nunes, Neither Vertical Nor Horizontal Leanne Mohamad, “How I came so close to beating Wes Streeting” Nicholas Beuret, Or Something Worse Mark Fisher, Ghosts Of My Life Keir Milburn, Generation Left Ajay Chaudhary, The Exhausted of the Earth Jane McAlevey, Raising Expectations (And Raising Hell) Staceyann Chin performs The Low Road by Marge Piercy David Graeber, Debt: The First 5000 Years Richard Seymour, “Baseline Communism” Ad Astra Harm Reduction Coalition Sarah, A Safe and Welcoming Home We are Craig Gent, a writer and researcher living in Leeds, and ⁠Sarah Jaffe⁠, a journalist and author based in London. Buy Craig's Book: Cyberboss Buy Sarah's Book: From the Ashes You can send us your questions at ⁠www.askmeanything.cc/heartreacts⁠. This episode was produced by us! We apologize for any inconsistencies in audio quality. If you liked it and want to help keep us going, and help us improve our recording process, you can support us at ⁠patreon.com/HeartReacts⁠. You can subscribe to the show wherever you get podcasts, and please do rate us on those podcast apps! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1h 2m
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4.9
out of 5
16 Ratings

About

“Pessimism of the intellect, optimism of the feels.” We are HEART REACTS, an advice podcast for everyone trying to remain emotionally functional through the collapse of late capitalism. We’re here to answer all of the questions about love, friendship, family, and even work that you might want to ask two people who have spent adulthood trying to apply their radical political analysis, more or less successfully, to their personal lives. We are Craig Gent, a writer and researcher living in Leeds, and ⁠Sarah Jaffe⁠, a journalist and author based in New Orleans. You can send us your questions at www.askmeanything.cc/heartreacts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Information

  • Creator
    Craig Gent and Sarah Jaffe
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    36
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Craig Gent and Sarah Jaffe
  • Show Website
    Heart Reacts

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