SPS Platypus

We discuss this year's protests in France around police brutality, pension reform, and cost of living with our members Lucas from Bretagne and Paul from Vienna, as well as check in with Parisian protestors with Kristian.

Weekly Coffee Breaks in Paris are held at

Le Grand Breuget
17 rue Breuget
75011 Paris

To stay up to date with Platypus France, get in touch here: https://www.platypusfrance.org

On this special back-to-school episode of SPS, Pamela & Laurie discuss the recent Russell Brand controversy. Brand has been in the news lately, under some heat, as a result of public allegations of sexual assault and misconduct. We take this up in the context of the ongoing sex panic and the ongoing transformation of feminism after #metoo, which leads us to discuss the Barbie movie. On the second part of the episode, our members Evan and the current president of Platypus, Erin, sit down with Benjamin Studebaker, the author of the recently published book, The Chronic Crisis of American Democracy: The Way is Shut (2023). Studebaker explains that the crisis of American democracy is deeply embedded in the America economic system, and develops a theory of “legitimacy crisis”. They take this up in their interview and ask some questions about the current state of American politics as well as his formulations of the ends of a Left political movement. We hope you enjoy this expanded edition of SPS, if you like it, leave us a comment and maybe you’ll find more of these longer episodes in the future. If you like the podcast share it and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, it helps us get the word out about the pod.

Links:
- System Update w/ Glenn Greenwald: “New Russell Brand Accusations Deserve Scrutiny & Due Process; Yoel Roth Wails Over Censorship-Regime Backlash; & 4 Republicans Demand Insane Ukraine Escalation” https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/new-russell-brand-accusations-deserve-scrutiny-due/id1669610956?i=1000628426173

-Benjamin Studebaker, The Chronic Crisis of American Democracy: The Way is Shut (2023) https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-28210-2

- “What is Marxism for?” A Panel with Benjamin Studebaker, Donald Parkinson, James Heartfield, and Chris Cutrone, PR# 153 (February 2023)
https://platypus1917.org/2023/02/01/what-is-marxism-for/

- “Marxism and liberalism” A Panel with James Heartfield, Spencer Leonard, Anthony Monteiro, and Benjamin Studebaker, PR #150 (October 2022)
https://platypus1917.org/2022/10/01/marxism-and-liberalism-2/

Original soundtracks by Tamas Vilaghy
Editing work by Michael Woodson

In this episode of SPS, Tamas sits down with Aram Shakkour (@ShaqArama) of the Szikra Movement (@SzikraMozgalom), an oppositional movement based around Budapest, Hungary. They discuss the state of leftist politics in Hungary after the oppositional coalition which Szikra supported, United for Hungary, failed to stop Viktor Orbán’s FIDESZ from winning a two-thirds parliamentary majority. With over 54% of the vote, FIDESZ received the highest vote share of any party since the fall of communism. They reflect on the three decades since the “system change,” as the events of 1989 are known in Hungary, and the deeper history of the Left in Hungary in the 20th century

- Szikra's : www.szikramozgalom.hu/about_us
- SPS #44: After the Freedom Convoy & the Hungarian Left Today - https://soundcloud.com/platypus-affiliated-society/ep44

In this episode, the Editor-in-Chief of the German Platypus Review, Tobias Rochlitz, sits down with Platypus members Stefan H, Jan BH, and our co-host Lisa M, all of whom contributed to the content of the special PR issue on Gender, to discuss an reflect upon the interview with Koschka Linkerhand, Tove Soiland and the panel discussion 'Gender and the Left‘ with Platypus member Stefan H, Roswitha Scholz and Sara Rukaj. They talk about how the ideas of the New Left survived and continued in the Millennial Left generation, the Heideggerian aspect of Lacan and about the Millennial Left’s focus on so-called “Materialism”.

German-language Platypus Review #23:
https://platypus1917.org/wp-content/uploads/ausgabe_23.pdf

Interview with Koschka Linkerhand:
https://platypus1917.org/2023/01/19/interview_linkerhand/

Interview with Tove Soiland:
https://platypus1917.org/2023/01/19/interview_soiland/

Panel: Gender and the Left with Roswitha Scholz, Sara Rukaj and Stefan Hain:
https://platypus1917.org/2023/07/01/gender-and-the-left/
[German: https://platypus1917.org/2023/01/19/gender_podium/ ]

References:
Gary Mucciaroni, Sherry Wolf, Kenyon Farrow, and Greg Gabrellas (2010): Which way forward for sexual liberation?
https://platypus1917.org/2011/02/01/which-way-forward-for-sexual-liberation/

Roxanne Baker, Judith Shapiro, and Sarah McDonald (2018): Marxism and feminism
https://platypus1917.org/2018/05/04/marxism-and-feminism/

Cornelia Möser, Lucy Parker, Ursula Jensen, and Joy McReady (2015): Women: the Longest Revolution
https://platypus1917.org/2016/03/07/women-longest-revolution-frankfurt/

David Faes (2018): Transgender liberation? A movement whose time has passed
https://platypus1917.org/2018/11/02/transgender-liberation-a-movement-whose-time-has-passed/

Stefan Hain and Andreas Wintersperger (2021): Psychoanalysis and Marxism https://platypus1917.org/2022/07/03/psychoanalysis-and-marxism/

Max Horkheimer (1926–31): “The Little Man and the Philosophy of Freedom,” in Dämmerung
https://platypus1917.org/wp-content/uploads/readings/horkheimer_dawnex.pdf

Original soundtracks by Tamas Vilaghy
Editing work by Michael Woodson
Design by Max Hörügel

In this episode Pamela and Laurie discuss the Trump indictment, DeSantis, and the conservative “resolution” to the crisis of neoliberalism through the Culture Wars. In our main segment, Platypus members from Vienna, Berlin, Melbourne and Chicago reflect on the Platypus panel, "A Century of Critical Theory: The Legacy of György Lukács,” (April 1st, 2023), the closing plenary of the 15th Platypus International Convention. The centenary marking the publication of his magnum opus, History and Class Consciousness: Studies in Marxist Dialectics (1923), offers the occasion to ask: What is the meaning of Lukács and HCC today? Over the last 100 years, various claims have been made of HCC. On the one hand, it is said to have inaugurated “Western Marxism” and set the foundation for the Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School. On the other, people have accused it of giving philosophical justifications for terroristic or opportunistic tendencies within Marxism–Leninism. We asked our panelists to consider the following: What is the relationship between political practice and theory that Lukács articulated in the revolutionary period of 1919–1925, based on his close reading of Lenin and Luxemburg? What in his critique of reification and defense of Marxist orthodoxy did the later Lukács disavow? What can we make of Lukács's legacy today? How have we received his investigation and elaboration of the problematic of Marxism? What are the essential issues raised for our time?

"A Century of Critical Theory: The Legacy of György Lukács" Platypus 15th annual international Convention. Feat. Chris Cutrone, Andrew Feenberg, Mike Macnair
Recording: https://youtu.be/K9Zfn2CZz_Y

"The Politics of Critical Theory,” December 3rd, 2021, hosted by the New York City chapters of the Platypus Affiliated Society, feat. Jay Bernstein (New School); Jonathon Catlin (PhD student in history at Princeton University); Erin Hagood (Platypus Affiliated Society)
https://www.youtube.com/live/pXgFDfJbgdM?feature=share

“The Politics of Critical Theory,” April 3, 2021, Platypus Affiliated Society International Convention, with Chris Cutrone (Platypus Affiliated Society), Dennis Graemer (Association for the Design of History), Douglas Kellner (UCLA, author of Herbert Marcuse and the Crisis of Marxism), and Doug Lain (Zer0 Books).
https://platypus1917.org/2021/10/01/the-politics-of-critical-theory-2/

“The Politics Of Critical Theory,” University of Vienna, 3rd annual Platypus European Conference, feat. Chris Cutrone(Platypus Affiliated Society); Martin Suchanek (Workers Power, Berlin); Haziran Zeller (Berlin)
https://archive.org/details/platypus_politicscriticaltheoryeuroconferencevienna021717_2/platypus_politicscriticaltheoryeuroconferencevienna021717_1.MP3

“The Politics of Critical Theory,” Third Annual Platypus International Convention with Chris Cutrone, Andrew Feenberg, Richard Westerman, and Nicholas Brown (Platypus Review 37, July 2011). Edited transcript: https://platypus1917.org/2011/07/09/the-politics-of-critical-theory/

“Lukács' Marxism” a panel discussion organized by the Platypus Affiliated Society, held on March 19, 2011, at Left Forum, Pace University.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9164kAaFTPI&ab_channel=PlatypusAffiliatedSociety

Marco Torres, “Politics as a Form of Knowledge: A Brief Introduction to Georg Lukács” Platypus Review #1 (November 2007)
https://platypus1917.org/2007/11/01/politics-as-a-form-of-knowledge-a-brief-introduction-to-georg-lukacs/

SPS
on Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/4ftkDeIALI2l8k2A49OVcs
on Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sps/id1305502112
on Soundcloud: @platypus-affiliated-society
on IG: @shitplatypussays

SPS is hosted by Andreas W. & Pamela N., with original tracks by Tamas Vilaghy, and editing assistance by Michael Woodson and Tamas Vilaghy. Our Sh-t Platypus Does team is Lisa M. and Rebekah P. To learn more about Platypus, go to platypus1917.org

In the first part of this episode, Lisa is joined by our German members Jakob, Nezam and Sebastian to discuss the crisis and history of DIE LINKE. They reflect on Platypus panels, interviews, and PR articles to think about the recent manifestations of the crisis within DIE LINKE and the radical Left's relation to the party. They talk about the international influence of the party and its impact on the entire Millennial Left generation. 
The second part of this episode features interviews conducted by our member Nezam at the conference of the faction „Revolutionärer Bruch“ („revolutionary split/break”) in January of this year. The faction was founded by members of DIE LINKE and its youth organization Linksjugend solid to discuss various strategies for moving forward and to deepen the assumption that DIE LINKE might no longer be a political home for the Left.

References:

> 2022: quoted ISA article: https://internationalsocialist.net/en/2022/12/germany 
> 2023: Panel Berlin: “War das schon der heiße Herbst?” (w/ Marek Schauer – Jurist und Journalist, Marcus Staiger – Heizung, Brot & Frieden, Wilhelm Schulz – GAM, Peter Nowak – freier Journalist) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QK2wLePamSk
> 2023: Panel Leipzig: "Heißer Herbst und die Linke" ( w/ Tim – "Jetzt Reichts" Linksjugend, Jonathan Eibisch, Revolution, Internationale Jugend/FKO) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zb52w0agoJ0
> German Platypus Review #6 in occasion of the General Election 2017: https://platypus1917.org/category/ausgabe-6/ including interviews w/ Sascha Staničić, Wolfgang Gehrcke (see below), Werner Dreibus and Dietmar Bartsch 
> 2022: Panel “Was ist DIE LINKE” (w/ Georg Fülberth, Thies Gleiss, Bernd Riexinger und Martin Suchanek) https://platypus1917.org/2022/08/31/podium_2021_linkspartei/
> 2022: Panel “Reform, Revolution, Resistance” (w/ Anna, Michael Brie, Dennis Graemer, Alexander Neupert-Doppler)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmSpjxaiGFk
> 2013: Panel "Conversations on the Left: What is to be done?" (w/ Bhaskar Sunkara, James Turley, and Ben Blumberg)https://platypus1917.org/2013/06/01/conversations-on-the-left-what-is-to-be-done/ and on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3y_dldZ1oZM
> 2017: Interview w/ Wolfgang Gehrcke: "Der Fortschritt der bürgerlichen Gesellschaft muss verteidigt werden" https://platypus1917.org/2017/08/12/der-fortschritt-der-burgerlichen-gesellschaft-muss-verteidigt-werden-interview-mit/
> 2013: Panel "Reform, Revolution, Resistance" (w/ Thomas Seibert, Norbert Trenkle, Daniel Loick, und Janine Wissler) https://platypus1917.org/category/platypus-review-authors/janine-wissler/ 
> 2023: quoted TAZ interview w/ Katja Kipping: https://taz.de/Kipping-ueber-Berlin-und-die-Linke/!5910197/

Original soundtracks by Tamas Vilaghy
Editing work by Michael Woodson
Design by Jakob Trescher