Shows / Jacobin Radio
Jacobin Radio
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.
Episodes
Jacobin RadioConfronting Capitalism: The New Left’s Legacy w/ Adolph Reed
Before the Bernie Sanders presidential runs, the last big upsurge in radical US politics occurred in the 1960s. This moment is remembered for its civil rights…
Jacobin RadioBehind the News: How Democrats Took Texas w/ David Griscom
David Griscom, author of The Myth of Red Texas, explains how Democrats took over Texas after 30 years of GOP rule. Djene Rhys Bajalan discusses Saudi Arabia’s…
Jacobin RadioLong Reads: Ruth First’s Fight Against Apartheid w/ Christopher Lee
Ruth First is one of the most celebrated figures to have been involved in the struggle against apartheid in South Africa. She was a leading member of the ANC…
Jacobin RadioThe Dig: Total Repudiation w/ Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor
Featuring Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor on this year’s historic US election cycle. A massive blue tsunami repudiated the MAGA right in the wake of a red primary wave…
Jacobin RadioBehind the News: Lula’s Victory w/ Alfredo Saad-Filho
Alfredo Saad-Filho discusses Lula’s victory and the challenges facing him in his fourth term. Raj Patel looks at the malign influence of foundations on the…
Jacobin RadioThe Dig: Human Liberation, Planetary Salvation w/ Alyssa Battistoni
Featuring Alyssa Battistoni on Free Gifts: Capitalism and the Politics of Nature. This episode is the second of a two-part interview: Battistoni’s account of…
Jacobin RadioJacobin Radio: Democratic Socialism in LA w/ Angela Gonzales-Torres
With the midterms approaching, Suzi talks to Angela Gonzales-Torres, the democratic socialist running against ethics-challenged incumbent Jimmy Gomez in LA’s…
Jacobin RadioConfronting Capitalism: Understanding DSA’s Rise
Over the past decade, the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) has moved from an obscure Cold War holdover to one of the most impactful organizations in US…
Jacobin RadioBehind the News: A Blueprint for Socialism w/ Mike Beggs
Mike Beggs, co-author of The Blueprint, outlines what a socialist economy might look like. Behind the News, hosted by Doug Henwood, covers the worlds of…
Jacobin RadioLong Reads: Burkina Faso’s Revolutionary Tradition w/ Bettina Engels
Burkina Faso is one of Africa’s poorest countries. But it has a powerful tradition of social movements and popular mobilization. In 2014, protesters brought…
Jacobin RadioThe Dig: Free Gifts w/ Alyssa Battistoni
Featuring Alyssa Battistoni on Free Gifts: Capitalism and the Politics of Nature. Fossil-fueled capitalism has pushed our planet into a profound set of crises…
Jacobin RadioBehind the News: The Legacy of Eugene V. Debs w/ Shawn Gude
Rodrigo Nunes, author of Anatomy of Disintegration, speaks about Bolsonaro, Brazil, and the global far right. Shawn Gude, author of American Socialist, details…
Jacobin RadioThe Dig: Who Moves America w/ Yael Bridge, Jeremy Flood, and Erick Stoll
Featuring Yael Bridge, Jeremy Flood, and Erick Stoll on Who Moves America, a powerful documentary about the massive 2023 Teamsters strike against UPS that…
Jacobin RadioJacobin Radio: Uprisings in France and Spain w/ Sebastian Budgen
From Madrid to Paris, tenants and teenagers are forcing their crises onto the agenda. Suzi talks to Agustín Santos Maraver, Spain’s former UN ambassador and…
Jacobin RadioConfronting Capitalism: Socialists in the Capitalist State
The Left looks poised to pick up some big electoral wins in the midterm elections. But with virtually all of the Left’s victories since the first Sanders…
Jacobin RadioBehind the News: Housing for All w/ Sam Stein
Sam Stein, author of A Right to Housing?, investigates that proposition skeptically. Natasha Lennard, author of On Un/Certainty, talks about how doubt can be a…
Jacobin RadioLong Reads: Telling the Truth About Biden and Gaza w/ Akbar Shahid Ahmed
After three years of slaughter in Gaza, some leading officials of the Biden administration are trying to justify their record. Figures like Antony Blinken and…
Jacobin RadioThe Dig: Confronting Labor’s Crisis w/ Chris Brooks
Featuring Chris Brooks on labor’s crisis and the strategic, militant class struggle that can turn it all around. Brooks, former chief of staff to UAW President…
Jacobin RadioBehind the News: The Hidden 1 Percent w/ Owen Zidar
Owen Zidar, co-author of The Everywhere Millionaire, reveals the world of the hidden rich. Plus: Jake Werner surveys the latest in US-China relations. Behind…
Jacobin RadioThe Dig: Muskism w/ Ben Tarnoff and Quinn Slobodian
Featuring Ben Tarnoff and Quinn Slobodian on their book Muskism: A Guide for the Perplexed. What the world’s bizarre richest man reveals about our financially…
Jacobin RadioConfronting Capitalism: What Makes a Marxist?
Karl Marx famously declared that he was not a Marxist. But his theoretical work spawned many branches of research, political movements, and heated debate. Can…
Jacobin RadioJacobin Radio: Jewish Anti-Zionists w/ Benjamin Moser
Pulitzer Prize winner Benjamin Moser joins Suzi to discuss his new book, Anti-Zionism: A Jewish History, which recovers a century of Jewish opposition to…
Jacobin RadioBehind the News: The Gospel of Live, Laugh, Love w/ Kristin Kobes Du Mez
Kristin Kobes Du Mez, author of Live Laugh Love, dives into the world of right-wing evangelical Christian women. Behind the News, hosted by Doug Henwood…
Jacobin RadioLong Reads: Ansar Allah’s Offensive in Yemen w/ Helen Lackner
Over the past few weeks, Yemen’s Ansar Allah movement, also known as the Houthis, has launched a major offensive. The offensive could have major implications…
Jacobin RadioBehind the News: The Backlash to School Vouchers w/ Jennifer Berkshire
Jennifer Berkshire talks about the anti-school voucher backlash. Heather Berg, author of Notes from the Sex Worker Left, discusses what that formation brings…
Jacobin RadioThe Dig: Winning Providence w/ Ben Shanahan
Featuring Ben Shanahan, the architect of socialist David Morales’ victorious campaign to be the Democratic nominee for mayor of Providence, Rhode Island. The…
Jacobin RadioConfronting Capitalism: Socialists and Markets
It’s all too common for people to associate the mere existence of markets with capitalism. But because we know markets had a life before capitalism, we can…
Jacobin RadioJacobin Radio: The Machinery of ICE Detention w/ John Washington
A prisoner is held, in theory, for something they did. The people inside America’s roughly 250 immigration detention camps are held for who they are, or where…
Jacobin RadioBehind the News: The Terrors (and Promise) of AI w/ Garrison Lovely
Garrison Lovely, author of Obsolete, discusses the terrors and possible promise of artificial intelligence. Dave Zirin looks back on the life and work of…
Jacobin RadioLong Reads: The Class Politics of Central Banking w/ Martijn Konings
The US Federal Reserve appointed a new chair earlier this year. Kevin Warsh replaced Jerome Powell, who had been under constant fire from the Trump…
Jacobin RadioThe Dig: Mailbag! w/ Ben Mabie
Featuring Daniel Denvir and Ben Mabie answering questions posed by you, our listeners. Submit a question for our next mailbag: speakpipe.com/ListenerMailbag…
Jacobin RadioBehind the News: Trump’s Venezuelan Oil Grab w/ Alejandro Velasco
Alejandro Velasco looks at Trump’s oil grab in Venezuela. Alex Vitale imagines a post-carceral future. Behind the News, hosted by Doug Henwood, covers the…
Jacobin RadioConfronting Capitalism: Labor Needs Socialists and Socialists Need Labor
Unions have more public support than just about anything else in the US, and yet, their membership has cratered. This poses an immense challenge to left-wing…
Jacobin RadioJacobin Radio: Is a Recession Imminent? w/ Michael Roberts
Producer and guest host Mel Figueroa speaks with economist Michael Roberts about the teetering house of cards that is the US and global economy, and how it is…
Jacobin RadioThe Dig: Insuring Catastrophe w/ David Wallace-Wells
Featuring David Wallace-Wells, Madison Condon, and Moira Birss on how insurance companies profit off climate catastrophe — and, in doing so, ensure that people…
Jacobin RadioBehind the News: The Political Economy of Slavery w/ David McNally
David McNally, author of Slavery and Capitalism, discusses the political economy of the institution. Plus: Billy Fleming, author of Building Postcarbon…
Jacobin RadioJacobin Radio: Rethinking Natural Disaster w/ Mike Davis
Mike Davis died in 2022, but his work is more urgent than ever. As record temperatures, fires, floods, El Niño, and megadroughts threaten the planet, we hear…
Jacobin RadioBehind the News: Israel’s Assault on Southern Lebanon w/ Aurélie Daher
Aurélie Daher, author of a piece for Responsible Statecraft, looks at the destruction Israel is visiting upon southern Lebanon. Annie McClanahan, author of…
Jacobin RadioConfronting Capitalism: The Return of Industrial Policy
Advanced capitalist countries have recently rediscovered the role of industrial policy to build out key economic sectors like semiconductors and AI. But what…
Jacobin RadioBehind the News: Capital’s Chatbots w/ Jodi Dean
Jodi Dean, who has a new Substack on the issue, surveys how AI has been terrible. Anatol Lieven, author of a new article for New Left Review’s Sidecar blog…
Jacobin RadioThe Dig: Destruction of the Jewish Bund w/ Molly Crabapple
Featuring Molly Crabapple on her book Here Where We Live Is Our Country: The Story of the Jewish Bund. The second in a two-part interview. Support The Dig at…
Jacobin RadioLong Reads: How US Media Whitewashed the Gaza Genocide w/ Adam Johnson
From the very start of the Gaza genocide, Western media outlets were happy to repeat the most outlandish claims from Israeli government officials. One of the…
Jacobin RadioJacobin Radio: Health Care Class Struggle w/ Gabriel Winant
“Men in hard hats were once the heart of America’s working class. Now it is women in scrubs,” says historian Gabriel Winant, author of The Next Shift, who…
Jacobin RadioBehind the News: The Rise of India’s “Cockroach” Movement w/ Aditya Nigam
Aditya Nigam looks at the “Cockroach” protest movement in India. Then, Gerald Epstein and Juliet Schor outline a detailed set of proposals to transform the US…
Jacobin RadioThe Dig: Making the Jewish Bund w/ Molly Crabapple
Featuring Molly Crabapple on her book Here Where We Live Is Our Country: The Story of the Jewish Bund. The first episode of a two-part interview. Support The…
Jacobin RadioConfronting Capitalism: How Capitalism Undermines Democracy
Libertarian thinkers like Milton Friedman like to say that capitalism not only gave birth to democracy but also is the ideal economic system to complement…
Jacobin RadioThe Dig: Nusantara Ep. 8 — Reform Stalls, Oligarchy Triumphs
The eighth and final episode in a series on the history of Indonesia: a hinge in the world system where colonialism and revolution have decisively shaped the…
Jacobin RadioLong Reads: China’s Next Decade w/ Eli Friedman
Over the last couple of years, media coverage of China has focused on the trade war launched by the Trump administration. While Trump and his tariffs have been…
Jacobin RadioJacobin Radio: The World Cup’s Impact and FIFA’s Mendacity
In a jam-packed final installment of The People’s Game on Jacobin Radio, Mel and Alan speak with five distinguished guests. The feature interview is with Jules…
Jacobin RadioBehind the News: A Vision of Democratic Socialism w/ Michaela Brangan
Michaela Brangan, co-chair of the group that wrote DSA’s new platform, speaks about the group’s vision. Hagen Blix, co-author of Why We Fear AI, examines…
Jacobin RadioConfronting Capitalism: Socialism and Class Traitors
We try to cover a lot of topics on this show, and that inevitably leads to many more follow-up questions. Luckily for you, on this latest episode of…
Jacobin RadioBehind the News: The US Tradition of Inequality w/ Kim Phillips-Fein
Kim Phillips-Fein, author of Country of Lords, traces the anti-egalitarian tradition in American politics. Aziz Rana discusses the tensions between the…
Jacobin RadioLong Reads: Football’s State of Emergency w/ David Goldblatt
The World Cup has entered its final week, and so far we’ve seen unprecedented levels of direct political interference in the organization of the tournament…
Jacobin RadioThe Dig: Nusantara Ep. 7 — Suharto’s Fall
The seventh episode in a series on the history of Indonesia: a hinge in the world system where colonialism and revolution have decisively shaped the trajectory…
Jacobin RadioJacobin Radio: The Surreal Contradictions of the World Cup w/ Ron Placone
In another installment of The People’s Game on Jacobin Radio, co-hosts Alan Minsky and Meleiza Figueroa speak with eminent sports historian David Goldblatt…
Jacobin RadioBehind the News: The Devastating Effects of Private Equity w/ Hettie O’Brien
Hettie O’Brien, author of The Asset Class, on the private equity racket — who they are, what they do. Behind the News, hosted by Doug Henwood, covers the…
Jacobin RadioConfronting Capitalism: Why the French Revolution Matters
On July 14, 1789, the storming of the Bastille in Paris marked the transition of the French Revolution from an elite negotiation into a truly mass event. But…
Jacobin RadioJacobin Radio: World Cup Update w/ Laurent Dubois
On Jacobin Radio, the team behind the People’s Game podcast continue their unique coverage of the 2026 World Cup, analyzing the men’s football games on the…
Jacobin RadioBehind the News: Outlines of a Socialist Economy w/ Aaron Benanav
Aaron Benanav, author of a report for the Autonomy Institute, on what a future socialist society might look like. Amy Laura Hall, author of Erecting the…
Jacobin RadioLong Reads: Trillion Dollar Baby w/ Quinn Slobodian and Ben Tarnoff (Part 2)
In September 2025, Elon Musk spoke by video link to a fascist rally in London. Tommy Robinson, the organizer of the rally and a convicted criminal, has been…