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 RadioThe Dig: Nusantara Ep. 6 — Mass Killing, New Order
The sixth 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 RadioBehind the News: The US-Iran Talks w/ Mouin Rabbani and Anatol Lieven
Two views from Behind the News regulars on the US-Iran negotiations: Anatol Lieven and Mouin Rabbani. Behind the News, hosted by Doug Henwood, covers the…
Jacobin RadioJacobin Radio: Football Fandom w/ Ryan McKnight
On this edition of Jacobin Radio with Suzi Weissman, guest co-hosts Alan Minsky and Mel Figueroa present another installment of The People's Game, a…
Jacobin RadioConfronting Capitalism: The Politics of Mass Deportation
Donald Trump has made the issue of immigration a key battleground in US politics. But with public opinion swinging against the brutal ICE raids and…
Jacobin RadioBehind the News: How Cops Rose Above the Law w/ Stuart Schrader
Stuart Schrader, author of Blue Power, explains how the political heft of cops allows them to get away with murder. Angela Jones, author of Sex in Public…
Jacobin RadioLong 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…
Jacobin RadioJacobin 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…
Jacobin RadioBehind 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…
Jacobin RadioThe 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…
Jacobin RadioConfronting 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…
Jacobin RadioThe 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…
Jacobin RadioLong 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…
Jacobin RadioThe 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…
Jacobin RadioBehind the News: The Canard of Cultural Marxism w/ A.J.A. Woods
Greg Grandin, author of a recent article for the New York Review of Books, looks at how Pope Leo was shaped by his time in Peru. A.J.A. Woods, author of The…
Jacobin RadioConfronting Capitalism: How Will Capitalism End?
Socialists have long predicted capitalism’s overthrow and replacement by a better system. But do we have any reason to believe capitalism must come to an end?…
Jacobin RadioBehind the News: The Trump-Xi Summit w/ Jake Werner
Jake Werner of the Quincy Institute analyzes the Trump–Xi summit and US–China relations generally. Gareth Gore, author of Opus, talks about Opus Dei, a…
Jacobin RadioJacobin Radio: Red Pilled w/ David Ost
The rise of the far right is the defining political crisis of our time. But are we analyzing it correctly? Suzi speaks with David Ost about his book Red Pill…
Jacobin RadioThe Dig: Dan Denvir’s Theory of Power and Organization
This one is different: an episode cross-posted from the new podcast Fighting Fascism, where Dig host Daniel Denvir gets behind the guest mic to discuss his…
Jacobin RadioLong Reads: Reform UK’s Path to Power w/ Phil Burton-Cartledge
Britain held local and regional elections earlier this month that proved to be catastrophic for the Labour government of Keir Starmer. Labour fell behind the…
Jacobin RadioThe Dig: Primary Struggle w/ Claire Valdez
Featuring New York U.S. House candidate Claire Valdez, Colorado U.S. House candidate Melat Kiros, Michigan U.S. House candidate William Lawrence, Massachusetts…
Jacobin RadioJacobin Radio: The Cost of Speaking Out Against Russia’s War w/ Simon Pirani
Suzi speaks with Simon Pirani about his book Voices Against Putin’s War: Protesters’ Defiant Speeches in Russian Courts and the film Try Me For Treason…
Jacobin RadioBehind the News: The US-Israeli War on Iran w/ Laleh Khalili and Mouin Rabbani
Two views of the US–Israeli war on Iran: Laleh Khalili and Mouin Rabbani. Behind the News, hosted by Doug Henwood, covers the worlds of economics and politics…
Jacobin RadioThe Dig: Primary Struggle w/ Abdul El-Sayed
Featuring Michigan U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, Tennessee US House candidate Justin Pearson, New York US House candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier…
Jacobin RadioConfronting Capitalism: Why Soviet-Style Planning Fails
Over time, the Soviet Union developed a system of centralized planning that became synonymous with socialism. How did the system work? What did it get right?…
Jacobin RadioBehind the News: The New US Imperialism w/ Nikhil Pal Singh and Greg Grandin
Excerpts from an event sponsored by the NYC DSA’s Academy for Socialist Education on the domestic and foreign aspects of Trumpism, featuring historians Nikhil…
Jacobin RadioThe Dig: Organizing Zohran’s NYC w/ Alina Shen and Fahd Ahmed
Featuring Alina Shen and Fahd Ahmed on organizing working-class Asian New Yorkers into Zohran Mamdani’s campaign and then building power under a democratic…
Jacobin RadioBehind the News: Yuppies w/ Dylan Gottlieb
Dylan Gottlieb, author of the new book Yuppies, explores how that often risible but pioneering social formation took over NYC. Ervand Abrahamian looks at the…
Jacobin RadioJacobin Radio: Iran in the Imperial Crosshairs
This week Jacobin Radio presents “In the Imperial Crosshairs: Trump's War and Its Consequences for the People of Iran and Ukraine,” a panel organized by…
Jacobin RadioConfronting Capitalism: How Socialism Could Work
Throughout the 20th century, socialism came to be associated with both central planning and shortages. But could democratic ownership of the economy work…
Jacobin RadioThe Dig: Rogue Elephant w/ Paul Heideman
Featuring Paul Heideman on how the Republican Party became so spectacularly unhinged. How the disorganization of the party and the disorganization of the US…
Jacobin RadioBehind the News: Elon’s World w/ Quinn Slobodian and Ben Tarnoff
Quinn Slobodian and Ben Tarnoff, authors of Muskism: A Guide for the Perplexed, on Elon’s world and what he wants to do to ours. Behind the News, hosted by…
Jacobin RadioLong Reads: Decoding the French Left w/ Sebastian Budgen (Part 2)
This is the second part of a two-part interview with Sebastian Budgen, senior editor at Verso, about French politics and the state of the French left. In our…
Jacobin RadioJacobin Radio: Organizing Outside the Tenure Track
Suzi speaks with Kate Levin, Janis Yue, and Sanjay Madhav, lead organizers of United Faculty-UAW, about their unionization drive at the University of Southern…
Jacobin RadioThe Dig: Nusantara Ep. 3 — Japanese Occupation, Indonesian Revolution
The third 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 RadioBehind the News: Orbán’s Defeat in Hungary w/ Anita Zsurzsán
Hungary’s long-serving authoritarian prime minister Viktor Orbán was defeated in an April 12 election. We get two views of what that means, from historian Kyle…
Jacobin RadioConfronting Capitalism: Which Way Forward for the Left?
How effective has the Left’s political strategy been since the first Bernie Sanders campaign? And how has our relationship to the Democratic Party changed? On…
Jacobin RadioJacobin Radio: Escaping Capitalism w/ Clara Mattei
Suzi speaks with political economist Clara Mattei about her new book, Escape from Capitalism. The title is provocative: What does it mean to escape capitalism?…
Jacobin RadioBehind the News: The Greed Driving US Politics w/ Andrew Cockburn
Andrew Cockburn, author of Washington Is Burning, examines “the spectacular greed at the heart of the nation’s political system.” Hadas Thier then discusses…
Jacobin RadioThe Dig: Nusantara Ep. 2 — National Awakening, Red Movement
The second 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 RadioLong Reads: Decoding the French Left w/ Sebastian Budgen (Part 1)
Two years ago, the French president Emmanuel Macron called snap elections for the National Assembly. The far right was widely expected to win and form a…
Jacobin RadioBehind the News: Venezuela After Maduro w/ Gabriel Hetland
Gabriel Hetland, author of a recent article for the Intercept, looks at what’s been happening in Venezuela since the kidnapping of Maduro. David Griscom…
Jacobin RadioConfronting Capitalism: This Century’s Biggest Labor Battle
Our modern economy is now dominated by massive mega-companies like Amazon and Walmart, with operations spanning many different sectors and employment types…
Jacobin RadioBehind the News: Complications of the Iran War w/ Mouin Rabbani
Mouin Rabbani talks about the Iran war and its many complications. Helen Yaffe talks about Trump’s oil embargo on Cuba — its effects and how Cubans are…
Jacobin RadioThe Dig: Economic Warfare w/ Aslı Bâli, Esfandyar Batmanghelidj, Nicholas Mulder
Featuring Aslı Bâli, Esfandyar Batmanghelidj, and Nicholas Mulder on the economic warfare unfolding with the US-Israeli war on Iran — and beyond. Support The…
Jacobin RadioLong Reads: El Salvador’s Jailer in Chief
Donald Trump is a huge fan of Nayib Bukele, the current president of El Salvador. Last April, Bukele visited the White House and offered to help with a…
Jacobin RadioBehind the News: Beyond Debates of Class vs. Identity w/ Nancy Fraser
Nancy Fraser goes beyond the class/identity disputes. Natalie Y. Moore, who wrote a recent article for Hammer and Hope and EHRP, looks at effects of federal…
Jacobin RadioThe Dig: Nusantara Ep. 1 — The Long Arc of Dutch Colonialism
Nusantara is a new Dig series on the history of Indonesia: a hinge in the world system where colonialism and revolution have decisively shaped the trajectory…
Jacobin RadioConfronting Capitalism: Trump’s Historic Blunder in Iran
The US-Israeli war against Iran may have been initiated without any coherently stated goals or popular support, but we can already see that it’s a horrific…
Jacobin RadioJacobin Radio: 2003 All Over Again w/ Kevan Harris
Two weeks into the US-Israeli assault on Iran, every prediction of its architects has collapsed. The regime stands. Protests haven't reignited. Iran’s new…
Jacobin RadioBehind the News: Homeland Empire w/ Nikhil Pal Singh
Historian Nikhil Pal Singh, author of a recent article for Equator, talks about how the Trump regime weaves foreign and domestic policy into a single domain of…
Jacobin RadioLong Reads: Trump’s Nation-Breaking War w/ Afshin Matin-Asgari
We’ve now entered the second week of the US-Israeli war on Iran. Donald Trump’s War Secretary Pete Hegseth has boasted about the US military machine bringing…
Jacobin RadioJacobin Radio: The US-Israeli Attack on Iran w/ Yassamine Mather
What are Iranians actually experiencing right now? Suzi speaks with Yassamine Mather, an Iranian socialist who has been in direct contact with relatives…
Jacobin RadioThe Dig: Anti-War w/ Ben Mabie & Salar Mohandesi
Featuring Ben Mabie and Salar Mohandesi on what the war on Iran tells us about US imperialism, and why the US doesn’t have a massive anti-war movement even…
Jacobin RadioBehind the News: The Decades-Long War on Iran w/ Behrooz Ghamari
Behrooz Ghamari, author of The Long War on Iran, looks at the politics and culture of the country. Anatol Lieven analyzes the effects of the war on Iran on the…
Jacobin RadioThe Dig: Primary Strategy w/ Geoff Simpson
Featuring Geoff Simpson on Justice Democrats’ massive 2026 slate of insurgent House candidates taking on AIPAC/Big Tech money. Also: the history of post-Bernie…
Jacobin RadioConfronting Capitalism: How Work Got So Bad
Why does every new technology seem to make work harder and not easier? In 1974, Harry Braverman published a seminal text Labor and Monopoly Capital to answer…
Jacobin RadioThe Dig: Breaking the Machine w/ Peter Linebaugh
Featuring Peter Linebaugh on the Luddites’ machine-breaking revolt against the enclosure of handicraft production, the central role played by capital…
Jacobin RadioBehind the News: The Psychology of the Epstein Gang w/ Tessa West
Tessa West, professor of psychology at NYU, examines the social dynamics that kept the Epstein gang together. Nick Srnicek, author of Silicon Empires…
Jacobin RadioLong Reads: The Sudanese Catastrophe w/ Joshua Craze
Last October, the war in Sudan took a new turn with the capture of El Fasher by the Rapid Support Forces. The city in western Sudan had been under siege by the…
Jacobin RadioJacobin Radio: Four Years of War in Ukraine w/ Oleksandr Kyselov
Suzi speaks to Ukrainian socialist Oleksandr Kyselov, who says the current “peace process” is a dangerous illusion. Russia’s goal, he argues, is not compromise…