Dialectics of Nature: Engels on Dialectical Materialism as a Worldview
Red Menace
In this episode, Alyson and Breht explore Friedrich Engels’ Dialectics of Nature, a bold and underappreciated attempt to apply dialectical materialism to the natural sciences. Often dismissed or misunderstood, this unfinished work offers a sweeping view of reality - from physics and chemistry to evolution, human consciousness, and ecological breakdown - through the lens of Marxist philosophy. Together, they unpack Engels’ central claim that nature itself unfolds dialectically: through contradiction, motion, transformation, and interconnection. They cover the three laws of dialectics,...
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Teaser: The Role of Labor in Human Evolution
Red Menace
This is small snippet from a much larger episode coming soon wherein Alyson and Breht cover Friedrich Engel’s famous text “Dialectics of Nature”, in which Engels argues for dialectical materialism as a scientifically grounded, philosophically rigorous, and holistic worldview—one that understands nature, society, and thought as deeply interconnected and constantly evolving. Find the clip used at the end of this teaser here:
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Tenant Unions Under Attack by Landlord Lobby
Red Menace
In this episode, Breht welcomes on Seth from for an in-studio discussion about OTU's slate of recent successes organizing several tenant unions, and a subsequent new legal assault on the organization by the local landlord lobby. The legal implications of this attack are truly monumental for virtually all forms of organizing. They also discuss how landlordism is a feudal hangover with modern capitalist dynamics, the differences between tenant organizing and labor organizing, tenant organizing as a particularly potent site of struggle, and the material underpinnings of recent superstructural...
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Farce, Finance & Fascism: Margaret Kimberley on Empire in Decay
Red Menace
In this powerful and wide-ranging conversation, —senior columnist at Black Agenda Report and a leader in —joins Breht to dissect the spectacle of American decline and, as usual, Kimberley offers a razor-sharp analysis of late-stage capitalism’s collapse into cruelty, chaos, and confusion. Together, they explore the Democratic Party’s complicity in ushering in this moment, U.S. weapons transfers to Ukraine in support of their proxy war against Russia, and the genocidal assault on Gaza as a revealing - if disturbing - lens into the true nature of the American empire. Kimberley also...
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Trotsky on Fascism (and Lessons for us Today)
Red Menace
In this episode, Alyson and Breht welcome Brendan to the show, a close comrade with a bit more sympathy toward Trotsky in order to be as fair as possible and get a fresh perspective. Together, we dive deep into Leon Trotsky’s Fascism: What It Is and How to Fight It, a sharp and urgent intervention written in the shadow of the Nazi rise to power. We unpack Trotsky’s class analysis of fascism, the role of the petite bourgeoisie, his searing critiques of both sectarian isolationism and liberal class collaboration, and his insistence on the United Front as the only viable revolutionary...
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City of Ashes: The Los Angeles Wildfires
Red Menace
Alyson - a lifelong and current resident of Los Angeles - and Breht discuss the wildfires ravaging L.A. Together they discuss the acute and structural causes of the fires, the role played by Climate Change, the reactionary propaganda surrounding the fires, the class dynamics at play, the self-serving careerist motivations of bourgeois politicans, the organized grassroots community response on the ground, and what it all means for the future of California, the US, and the world. Outro Song: Forest Fire by Mount Eerie
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New Years Reflection: Reviewing 2024 and Looking Ahead to 2025 & Beyond
Red Menace
It's time for our annual Revolutionary Guerrilla Menace episode, where we crossover with Rev Left and the Red Menace in order to review the past year in world events and look forward to what we think will be coming in the next year. Breht, Alyson, Adnan, and Henry discuss Palestine, BRICS, the Alliance of Sahel States, global capitalism, and much more, so be sure to tune in and share widely! This episode will also be on and Rev Left. Follow RLR on IG Support Red Menace on Patreon
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Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism (Upstream)
Red Menace
Alyson and Breht were invited to join to talk about Lenin's "Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism". Capitalism, imperialism, monopoly—far from being separate concepts that just happen to take shape parallel to one another or to overlap from time to time, these terms all really refer to the exact same overall process. We call it capitalism because it’s not always practical to call it “monopoly capitalism in its imperialist stage” or something like that, but really, capitalism is, as we’ll see, inevitably monopolistic and imperialist. The process of...
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The German Revolution
Red Menace
Alyson and Breht finally dive into the German Revolution of 1918! Together they discuss this rather ambigious revolution, give a detailed overview of events, and reflect on what lessons we can learn from it. From the toppling of the Kaiser, to the brutal fight between social democrats and communists (including the horrible murders of Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht), to the rise of the Freikorp and the Weimar Republic (and beyond), they help listeners understand the importance, the successes, the failures, and the tragedies, of this often neglected revolution....
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Shattering the Spectacle: Trump, Kamala, and the 2024 Election
Red Menace
Alyson and Breht analyze the results of the recent presidential election and explore its various meanings. Together they discuss the grotesque hollowness of the Democratic Party, the identity crisis of the post-Trump Republican party, dealignment and realignment, the end of neoliberalism, the rise of the illiberal Right around the world, strategies for developing the socialist left as a serious player on the electoral terrain, how Trump might navigate the Israel issue, the end of neoliberal identity reductionism, the importance of solidarity across identities, building power outside of the...
info_outlineRest in Peace, Aaron. Free Palestine!
"To burn oneself by fire is to prove that what one is saying is of the utmost importance. There is nothing more painful than burning oneself. To say something while experiencing this kind of pain is to say it with utmost courage, frankness, determination, and sincerity."
- Thich Nhat Hanh in a letter to MLK Jr. regarding the self-immolation of Vietnamese Buddhist monks