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 RadioJacobin Radio: How to Resist ICE and Win w/ Bill Gallegos
Professor Tom Alter, a tenured historian at Texas State University, was recently fired for speaking at an online socialism conference. His remarks were…
Jacobin RadioThe Dig: From Fiscal Austerity to Monetary Abundance w/ Melinda Cooper
Featuring Melinda Cooper on Counterrevolution: Extravagance and Austerity in Public Finance. Balanced budget conservatism and supply side populism engineered a…
Jacobin RadioConfronting Capitalism: Reviving Class Politics Today
In this tumultuous political era, it’s common to hear that the Left needs to rebuild its historic sources of power. But it’s more accurate to say that the Left…
Jacobin RadioJacobin Radio: Imperialism in the 21st Century w/ Ilya Matveev
At the end of September, political theorist Ilya Matveev joined the Critique editorial board to present his ideas about imperialism in the 21st century. Suzi…
Jacobin RadioBehind the News: Trump’s Dubious Gaza Scheme w/ Mouin Rabbani
Erin Thompson considers the politics of public monuments as Trump talks of restoring Confederate statues. Mouin Rabbani returns for a look at Trump’s dubious…
Jacobin RadioLong Reads: Portugal’s Left in Retreat w/ Catarina Príncipe (Part 2)
This week’s episode of Long Reads is the second in a two-part interview. In our last episode, we spoke to Catarina Príncipe about the politics of Portugal…
Jacobin RadioThe Dig: Counterrevolution w/ Melinda Cooper
Featuring Melinda Cooper on Counterrevolution: Extravagance and Austerity in Public Finance. Neoliberalism remade the American economy into an engine for the…
Jacobin RadioJacobin Radio: Tech Capital Is Taking Over Politics w/ Thomas Ferguson
Thomas Ferguson has investigated money in politics for decades, and he has found, over and over again, that money and election outcomes are directly linked. He…
Jacobin RadioBehind the News: Recognizing Palestine w/ Mouin Rabbani
Mouin Rabbani explains what is behind all these fresh diplomatic recognitions of Palestine and speculates on the future of Gaza. Ernesto Semán, author of a…
Jacobin RadioConfronting Capitalism: The Origins of Capitalism
It’s well understood that capitalist economies are a recent development in human history. But there is persistent disagreement on the Left over exactly how and…
Jacobin RadioJacobin Radio: Trump’s War on Dissent w/ Pema Levy
The Roberts Court gave Trump sweeping immunity — and he’s using it to intimidate critics, greenlight ICE’s racial profiling raids, extort universities, law…
Jacobin RadioThe Dig: State of Impunity w/ Alberto Toscano and Stuart Schrader
Featuring Alberto Toscano and Stuart Schrader on Trump’s intensification of police, ICE, and military repression. What does this all reveal about MAGA’s…
Jacobin RadioBehind the News: High Church Neoliberalism w/ Quinn Slobodian
Quinn Slobodian, author of Hayek’s Bastards, speaks about the eugenics/race science tendencies within High Church Neoliberalism. Molly White looks at…
Jacobin RadioLong Reads: Portugal’s Left in Retreat w/ Catarina Príncipe (Part 1)
Long Reads spoke to Yanis Varoufakis earlier in the year to mark the tenth anniversary of the Greek referendum on the austerity programs of the European Union…
Jacobin RadioThe Dig: Fascist Police State w/ Alberto Toscano and Stuart Schrader
Featuring Alberto Toscano and Stuart Schrader on Trump’s intensification of police, ICE, and military repression. What does this all reveal about MAGA’s…
Jacobin RadioJacobin Radio: Block Everything w/ Sebastian Budgen
Suzi talks to Sebastian Budgen in Paris about the collapse of Prime Minister François Bayrou’s government and the “Block Everything” mobilization against…
Jacobin RadioBehind the News: The Utopian Dreams of AI Moguls w/ Émile Torres
Émile Torres, who co-wrote an article with Timnit Gebru for First Monday about AI, discusses tech moguls’ dreams of transcending the merely human. Daniel…
Jacobin RadioConfronting Capitalism: Populism’s Promises and Pitfalls
Populism is in the air, providing unique opportunities and challenges to the Left. On this episode of Confronting Capitalism, Vivek Chibber discusses how…
Jacobin RadioBehind the News: From Debs to DSA w/ David Duhalde
John Roosa looks at what’s behind the riots in Indonesia. David Duhalde, author of a paper for the Rosa Luxemburg Stinting, discusses the Democratic Socialists…
Jacobin RadioThe Dig: Class Struggle for the University w/ Ian Gavigan
Featuring Ian Gavigan on how the bipartisan neoliberalization of higher education laid the groundwork for Trump’s all-out assault. Workers must unite on every…
Jacobin RadioBehind the News: William Buckley’s Life and Influence w/ Sam Tanenhaus
Sam Tanenhaus, author of Buckley: The Life and the Revolution that Changed America, on Bill, his thought, and his influence. Behind the News, hosted by Doug…
Jacobin RadioJacobin Radio: Inside Ukraine at War w/ Tanya Vyhovsky
Suzi talked to Vermont state senator and democratic socialist Tanya Vyhovsky, just back from several weeks in Ukraine. Senator Vyhovsky traveled from Kyiv to…
Jacobin RadioThe Dig: Pie Down Here w/ Robin D. G. Kelley
Featuring Robin D. G. Kelley listening back and reflecting upon old tapes of the interviews with sharecroppers he conducted in the 1980s while researching…
Jacobin RadioConfronting Capitalism: Why Class Matters
Utilizing class analysis is the bread and butter of socialist politics. But understanding how classes are shaped and reproduced has changed over time. On this…
Jacobin RadioJacobin Radio: The Air Canada Strike w/ Barry Eidlin
Labor sociologist Barry Eidlin joins Suzi to discuss the recent Air Canada strike, which has now reached a tentative agreement. The strike began when 10,000…
Jacobin RadioBehind the News: Bourgeois Attire w/ Derek Guy
Osita Nwanevu, author of The Right of the People, examines the flaws of US democracy — and some cures. Derek Guy outlines the evolution of upper-class men’s…
Jacobin RadioLong Reads: Iran Under Fire w/ Eskandar Sadeghi-Boroujerdi
The war that Benjamin Netanyahu launched against Iran in June killed hundreds of Iranian civilians. After pleading with Donald Trump to intervene on his…
Jacobin RadioJacobin Radio: The Legacy of Revolutionary Ukraine w/ Vladyslav Starodubtsev
Ukrainian left activist, historian, and soldier Vladyslav Starodubtsev joins Suzi to connect two moments, separated by more than a century, in the fight for…
Jacobin RadioBehind the News: Beyond the Capitalist Economy w/ Aaron Benanav
Aaron Benanav, author of a recent article for New Left Review, outlines possibilities for a democratically planned economy. Jerome Nikolai Warren examines the…
Jacobin RadioThe Dig: Death and Life Under Capitalism w/ Sarah Jaffe
Featuring Sarah Jaffe on her book From the Ashes: Grief and Revolution in a World on Fire. The ordinary death of a loved one under a capitalist order that…
Jacobin RadioJacobin Radio: A Left Split From Labour w/ Tariq Ali
Suzi speaks to Tariq Ali about Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana’s new party — provisionally called Your Party — which has surpassed Labour’s membership with…
Jacobin RadioConfronting Capitalism: The PMC Isn’t Going Away
The “professional managerial class” has become a staple of political debate on the Left. In this episode of Confronting Capitalism, Vivek Chibber explains why…
Jacobin RadioBehind the News: The “Anti-Woke” Culture War w/ Jodi Dean
Jodi Dean, author of a recent article about the “classism of defeat,” makes a case for why going anti-woke is very wrong. Emily Jashinsky analyzes Marjorie…
Jacobin RadioLong Reads: Trump’s Gaza Famine w/ Akbar Shahid Ahmed
Gaza is experiencing a man-made famine as Israel blocks the supply of almost all humanitarian aid. By the start of August, Israeli soldiers had killed nearly…
Jacobin RadioThe Dig: Chicago’s Left Experiment
Featuring Alex Han, Asha Ransby-Sporn, and alderwoman Jeanette Taylor on Chicago’s left political experiment. In the wake of Zohran’s remarkable victory in New…
Jacobin RadioBehind the News: Can Mamdani Reform the NYPD? w/ Alex Vitale
Alex Vitale, author of a recent Nation article, discusses Zohran Mamdani, the NYPD, and policing generally. Plus: Dwayne Monroe takes on the latest wave of AI…
Jacobin RadioJacobin Radio: Israel’s Gaza Starvation Campaign w/ Yoav Peled
Suzi speaks to Yoav Peled of Tel Aviv University about the accelerating crisis in Israel and Gaza. Though there is a “humanitarian pause” in Israel’s war, the…
Jacobin RadioConfronting Capitalism: Why the Democrats Can’t Fight for Anything
Democratic voters are enraged by their party’s spineless “resistance” to the Trump administration’s draconian agenda. But the party’s dysfunction goes far…
Jacobin RadioBehind the News: Why the US Needs “Better Elites” w/ Samuel Moyn
Anatol Lieven of the Quincy Institute looks at US relations with the world under the Trump regime, specifically Russia–Ukraine, Israel–Palestine, and US…
Jacobin RadioLong Reads: The Crypto Scam Goes Mainstream w/ Ramaa Vasudevan
Back in 2023, Long Reads spoke with Ramaa Vasudevan of Colorado State University for an episode about the development of crypto capitalism. Since then, the…
Jacobin RadioThe Dig: Actual Abundance w/ Isabella Weber, Malcolm Harris, & Paul Williams
Featuring Isabella Weber, Malcolm Harris, and Paul Williams on Abundance. A debate and discussion of: the book; the discourse; the underlying economic and…
Jacobin RadioBehind the News: Health Care Havoc w/ Adam Gaffney
Adam Gaffney, co-author of a recent article for the New York Review of Books, looks at Trump & Co.’s dismantling of health care and research. Also on the…
Jacobin RadioJacobin Radio: Russia’s Anti-War Political Prisoners w/ Simon Pirani
At the recent Socialism 2025 conference in Chicago, Suzi moderated a panel about political prisoners in Russia and brings it now to Jacobin Radio. We hear from…
Jacobin RadioConfronting Capitalism: How Iraq Became the Regime Change Playbook
US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites last month were a dangerous escalation in the ongoing conflict with Iran. But while a ceasefire has remained in place…
Jacobin RadioBehind the News: The Case for a Four-Day Workweek w/ Juliet Schor
Juliet Schor, author of the book Four Days a Week, looks at experiments in reducing the workweek. Katherine Moos and Noé Martin Wiener, authors of a paper for…
Jacobin RadioThe Dig: Notes on the New Regime w/ Aslı Bâli & Gabriel Winant
Featuring Aslı Bâli and Gabriel Winant on the emerging conjuncture: the Trump regime’s fascist and authoritarian second coming; the giant vacuum created by the…
Jacobin RadioLong Reads: The Legacy of Greece’s Oxi Referendum w/ Yanis Varoufakis
It’s now ten years since the people of Greece voted in a referendum on the austerity program of the European Union. The referendum was called by the government…
Jacobin RadioBehind the News: Rule by Private Equity w/ Megan Greenwell
Lily Lynch, who wrote about the NATO summit, discusses the event. Megan Greenwell, author of Bad Company, talks about the depredations of private equity…
Jacobin RadioJacobin Radio: Mamdani’s Spectacular Victory w/ Alan Minsky
Zohran Mamdani, a 33-year-old democratic socialist, just stunned the political establishment — defeating Andrew Cuomo to win New York City’s Democratic mayoral…
Jacobin RadioThe Dig: How Zohran Won w/ NYC DSA
Featuring NYC DSA co-chairs Gustavo Gordillo and Grace Mausser on how Zohran Mamdani won the Democratic mayoral primary. NYC DSA spent years building an…
Jacobin RadioBehind the News: What’s Going on in Iran? w/ Sohrab Ahmari
Sohrab Ahmari, US editor of UnHerd, provides perspectives on the current state of the conflict between Iran, Israel, and the US. Leigh Claire La Berge, author…
Jacobin RadioConfronting Capitalism: How Trump Became a Neocon
Much of Trump’s popular appeal was wrapped up in his anti-establishment and anti-war posture on the campaign trail. But in only a few months, Trump’s populist…
Jacobin RadioJacobin Radio: A Dangerous Turning Point in the Middle East w/ Yassamine Mather
Late on June 21st, Trump joined Israel’s war on Iran. Just two days after warning Iran it had two weeks to make a deal, Trump unleashed the military might of…
Jacobin RadioBehind the News: Israel’s War on Iran w/ Mouin Rabbani
Mouin Rabbani explains the regional and global context of Israel's war on Iran and Joel Schalit describes the society and politics that have informed Israel's…
Jacobin RadioThe Dig: Israel’s Forever Wars w/ Mouin Rabbani
Featuring Mouin Rabbani on Israel’s war on Iran, possible direct US intervention, and the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Chicago: come see The Dig live!…
Jacobin RadioConfronting Capitalism: Why We Don’t Revolt
The Left often invokes the media’s power of persuasion to explain why people accept their situation within capitalism. But what if instead the system remains…
Jacobin RadioThe Dig: Student Debt w/ Ryann Liebenthal, Chenjerai Kumanyika, Mike Pierce
Featuring Ryann Liebenthal, Chenjerai Kumanyika, and Mike Pierce on Ryann’s book Burdened: Student Debt and the Making of an American Crisis. Interview by…
Jacobin RadioBehind the News: Marx in America w/ Andrew Hartman
Paolo Gerbaudo, author of recent articles for Phenomenal World, traces the rise of Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD. Andrew Hartman, who has written the book…
Jacobin RadioRed Star Over Palestine: Oslo and After
For many years, Palestine had one of the strongest left-wing movements in the Arab world, represented by prominent figures such as Emile Habibi, Leila Khaled…
Jacobin RadioJacobin Radio: How the Right Won in Poland w/ David Ost
David Ost, professor of politics and Hobart and William Smith, joins Suzi to unpack Poland’s June 1 presidential election. The race was tight, but in the end…