Libsyn Directory

Ep 75 - The Stalin Eras, Part 4.5: Long Live Comrade Stalin (1943-1953)

Release Date: 03/05/2025

Ep 107 - Prison, Innocence, and Love In Revolution (w/ Jean Paul Fartre)

Proles Pod

Justin and Rae sit down with Jean Paul Fartre (JPF) for a wide-ranging conversation on justice work, prison abolition, wrongful convictions, and the role of love in revolutionary politics. Along the way, they discuss JPF's experiences as a male escort, the limits of liberal approaches to prison abolition, and what meaningful solidarity can look like in practice. Read JPF's writing at Follow him on social media: @jeanpaulfartre Support the show Join us on for early-release episodes, study guides, bonus content, TheoryBeats, and more! You can even sign up for free to access...

Ep 106 - Green China: Sovereignty through Green Tech

Proles Pod

Rae and Jeremy are joined by Ashwin Shantha of the to discuss the ways in which (and the reasons why) China has developed an indigenous approach to green technology. We talk NEVs and solar panels through the lens of sovereignty, socialism, and anti-imperialism. We get into the relationship among the Imperialist West, China, and the rest of the Global South. Resources Support the show Join us on for early-release episodes, study guides, bonus content, TheoryBeats, and more! You can even sign up for free to access study guides, merch updates, and surprise drops....

Ep 105 - East German Democracy & Anti-Imperialism (Ft. IF DDR)

Proles Pod

Max and Matthew from join Jeremy and Justin for a wide-ranging discussion on the realities of socialist democracy in East Germany. The conversation explores the lived experiences of German peasants during a period of major social transformation, alongside a closer look at the GDR’s often-overlooked anti-imperialist legacy. Studies Produced by IF DDR Support the show Join us on for early-release episodes, study guides, bonus content, TheoryBeats, and more! You can even sign up for free to access study guides, merch updates, and surprise drops. Stay connected: Subscribe on...

Ep 104 - Fraud, Fatherhood, and Fascism

Proles Pod

On this very special episode of ProlesPod, Rae gets to meet their hero, Matthew Remski, host of the podcasts Conspirituality and Anti-Fascist Dad. He is also the author of the new book Anti-Fascist Dad. Today, we discuss grifters and grifts in the wellness community, cults, the intersection of these things with fascism, as well as fatherhood itself. You can find all of Matthew's various links to his socials and projects . Support the show Join us on for early-release episodes, study guides, bonus content, TheoryBeats, and more! You can even sign up for free to access...

Ep 103 - Laos and People's Democracy (Ft. Holly High)

Proles Pod

Rae and Tony sit down with Holly High—frequent guest on Tony’s other podcast, Actually Existing Socialism—to discuss the present-day realities of Laos’ socialist people’s democracy. Holly is an anthropologist whose fieldwork in Laos uses ethnographic methods and anthropological analysis to explore everyday human experience. Check out Holly’s Substack, , and subscribe for a chance to win a free copy of one of her books. Support the show Join us on for early-release episodes, study guides, bonus content, TheoryBeats, and more! You can even sign up for free to access...

Ep 102 - Vietnam Today (Ft. Luna Oi & EJ)

Proles Pod

Luna Oi and EJ join the show for a grounded, hilarious, and wide-ranging conversation on what socialist construction actually looks like in Vietnam today—the wins, the contradictions, the setbacks, and yes, a bit of extra beef along the way. They also dive into their ambitious translation project, bringing Vietnamese Marxism-Leninism textbooks to a broader audience and unpacking why that work matters right now. Support the show Join us on for early-release episodes, study guides, bonus content, TheoryBeats, and more! You can even sign up for free to access...

Ep 101 - Where Are the Girls?

Proles Pod

Where Are the Girls?! In honor of International Working Women’s Day, Rae is joined by several girls (and girls adjacent) to ask and answer a question that weighs heavily on left spaces: Where are the girls?! Why are so many communist spaces male dominated, what are the impediments to getting women and people of other genders to join, and once they’ve joined, are there specific considerations that make it difficult for them to stay? Joining Rae are Pame Ledesma of Y Las Palabras and correspondent of Means Morning News, Lenore and Jen Big Nasty of Workers’ Lit and How the...

Throwback Ep: Talking Marxism With the Proles (2024 RevLeft Episode)

Proles Pod

Back in the summer of 2024, back in the BSE (Before Stalin Eras) period of the Proles reboot - Rae, Tony, and Jeremy joined Breht on RevLeft Radio to talk Marxism. If you haven't heard it! Check it out. If you have, listen again! Support the show: Join us on for early-release episodes, study guides, bonus content, TheoryBeats, and more! You can even sign up for free to access study guides, merch updates, and surprise drops. Stay connected: Subscribe on your favorite podcast app, and don’t forget to rate and review it helps the show reach more comrades.Follow us on: ...

Ep 100 - 100th Episode Ask Us Anything

Proles Pod

We did it! Somehow. And somehow there are now more episodes post-comeback than in the original run. It doesn't really feel that way. These past two years have flown by. It feels like only yesterday that Justin was saying, "I think we should invite the guy who does the AES podcast to join Proles." We're grateful to Tony and Rae for putting up with the brothers J, and for adding insight we wouldn't have. But we also want to thank all of you, our listeners, without whom we would just be four people with ADHD screaming into the void. We love you, comrades. We love you so much we decided to forgo...

Ep 99 - Ecuador, The Left, and Fascism

Proles Pod

This episode, which was recorded toward the end of November 2025, nonetheless tells an intersting story that gives context to the historical moment we have found ourselves in. It adresses the role of the left in latin american movements, the future, philosophy, and the failure of social democracy. We are joined by Dr Marc Becker and Dr Brandon Sanchez who are experts on these areas and histories. Support the show: Join us on for early-release episodes, study guides, bonus content, TheoryBeats, and more! You can even sign up for free to access study guides, merch updates,...

More Episodes

In this final narrative of "The Stalin Eras”, we detail Joseph Stalin’s life within the context of Soviet history through the years 1943-1953.

This narrative, titled “Long Live Comrade Stalin!" covers viscerally the experience of the Soviet people during the Great Patriotic War as well as the key ingredients to their victory, the early days of the cold war, and Stalin's final years.

The Stalin Eras, inspired by the classic RevLeft Radio episode “Stalin: A Marxist-Leninist Perspective, mixes both narrative history (ala Blowback) and discussion (like classic Prolespod) to provide the most comprehensive English overview of the life and impact of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin in podcast format.

Whether you’re a socialist history enthusiast, someone who’s just curious to learn more than what you got in school about the Soviet Union, or even a total hater who just wants to rage, this series has something for everyone.

Support the show at www.patreon.com/prolespod

Recommended Supplemental Listening

East Germany: Stasi State or Socialist Paradise? w/Bruni de la Motte

The Rise of, Life In, and Fall of the German Democratic Republic

The Subversion of East Germany (1945-1961)

The American Soldier Who Defected to East Germany (Part 1) w/ Victor Grossman

The Czechoslovak Socialist Republic (1948-1990) w/ Julia Mead

Critiquing Stalin's Black Legend w/ Henry Hakamäki & Salvatore Engel-Di Mauro

Class Based Affirmative Action in Socialist Poland w/ Agata Zysiak

Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic 101: Pre-history to World War II w/ Iskolat

Was the Soviet Union Totalitarian w/ Robert Thurston

Understanding Siege Socialim w/ Gabriel Rockhill