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[TEASER] Venezuela Pt. 2: Socialist Communes and Anti-Imperialism w/ Chris Gilbert

Release Date: 09/30/2025

From the Frontlines: Tenant Organizing w/ Josh Poe and Tara Raghuveer

Upstream

In this episode, part of our ongoing From the Frontlines series, and Josh Poe join us for a conversation about tenant organizing. Tara Raghuveer is a tenant organizer with KC Tenants based in Kansas City, Missouri and with the Tenant Union Federation. Josh Poe is the organizing director with the Kentucky Tenant Union, formerly known as the Louisville Tenant Union and organizes with the Tenant Union Federation along with Tara. Our conversation opens with a introduction to tenants unions before diving into the specific work that is being done by our guests. We discuss some of the ongoing fights...

[TEASER] Imperialism in the Twenty-First Century w/ John Smith

Upstream

This is a free preview of the episode "Imperialism in the Twenty-First Century w/ John Smith." You can listen to the full episode by subscribing to our Patreon here: As a Patreon subscriber you'll get access to at least one bonus episode a month (usually two or three), our entire back catalog of Patreon episodes, early access to certain episodes, and other benefits like stickers and bumper stickers—depending on which tier you subscribe to. access to bi-weekly bonus episodes ranging from conversations to readings and more. Signing up for Patreon is a great way to make Upstream a weekly show,...

China Pt. 8: Mao Zedong and Maoism with Yueran Zhang

Upstream

In Part 8 of we're joined by Yueren Zhang to discuss Mao Zedong and the political philosophy of Maoism. Yueran Zhang is Assistant Professor in the department of sociology at the University of Chicago. He specializes in the comparative studies of capitalism, socialism, and transitions in between, with a special emphasis on political economy and the dynamics of development in the Global South. The conversation opens by presenting a biographical and historical overview of Mao Zedong, the context in which the Chinese Revolution occured, and Mao's role in the Chinese Revolution. We then...

[TEASER] Venezuela Pt. 4: The Empire vs. Venezuela w/ Jesus Rodriguez-Espinoza and Saheli Chowdhury

Upstream

This is a free preview of the episode "Venezuela Pt. 4: The Empire vs. Venezuela w/ Jesus Rodriguez-Espinoza and Saheli Chowdhury." You can listen to the full episode by subscribing to our Patreon here: As a Patreon subscriber you'll get access to at least one bonus episode a month (usually two or three), our entire back catalog of Patreon episodes, early access to certain episodes, and other benefits like stickers and bumper stickers—depending on which tier you subscribe to. access to bi-weekly bonus episodes ranging from conversations to readings and more. Signing up for Patreon is a...

Slow Down or Die w/ Timothée Parrique

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In this episode, Timothée Parrique joins us for a discussion on degrowth. We begin the conversation with explaining the concept of degrowth, looking at its history, and really unpacking what it is and what it isn’t. We talk about degrowth’s two-fold agenda to both downscale production and consumption for environmental reasons, as well as its potential for removing the profit-motive as a central concern in how we organize society. We outline the differences between degrowth and recessions, the problem with GDP as a measurement tool for success, how degrowth can help to reduce poverty in...

[TEASER] Venezuela Pt. 3: Sanctions as Economic Warfare w/ Cira Pascual Marquina

Upstream

We are publishing this episode a few days early. Solidarity with Venezuela! This is a free preview of the episode " Venezuela Pt. 3: Sanctions as Economic Warfare w/ Cira Pascual Marquina." You can listen to the full episode by subscribing to our Patreon here: As a Patreon subscriber you'll get access to at least one bonus episode a month (usually two or three), our entire back catalog of Patreon episodes, early access to certain episodes, and other benefits like stickers and bumper stickers—depending on which tier you subscribe to. access to bi-weekly bonus episodes ranging from...

Migration as Economic Imperialism w/ Immanuel Ness

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A quick but important announcement: if you’re a recurring donor through Flipcause (not Patreon, but Flipcause) please check your spam folder for an email from upstreampodcast.org because we’ve sent out some important emails regarding your donation and the Flipcause platform. Check your spam for the subject line “Action required: your Upstream donation.” And just a reminder that this is only for Flipcause donors, not Patreon subscribers—if you're a Patreon subscriber please completely disregard this announcement. In this episode, Immanuel Ness joins us for a...

[TEASER] Venezuela Pt. 2: Socialist Communes and Anti-Imperialism w/ Chris Gilbert

Upstream

This is a free preview of the episode "Venezuela Pt. 2: Socialist Communes and Anti-Imperialism w/ Chris Gilbert." You can listen to the full episode by subscribing to our Patreon here: As a Patreon subscriber you'll get access to at least one bonus episode a month (usually two or three), our entire back catalog of Patreon episodes, early access to certain episodes, and other benefits like stickers and bumper stickers—depending on which tier you subscribe to. access to bi-weekly bonus episodes ranging from conversations to readings and more. Signing up for Patreon is a great way to make...

Post Capitalist Parenting Pt. 5: Raising Children in the Midst of Global Crisis w/ Jo delAmor

Upstream

In this episode, Part 5 of our ongoing Post Capitalist Parenting series, Jo delAmor joins us for a wide-ranging conversation about raising children in the midst of a global crisis. We open our discussion with a nod to the late scholar and activist Joanna Macy and the Work That Reconnects which she developed and which has shaped and influenced both Jo and Della's work. We then talk about Jo's framing of the power over and thriving life paradigms and the role they play in how we parent under capitalism. Della and Jo talk about the false paradigm of separation and how this can be overcome through...

[TEASER] Alliance of Sahel States Pt. 3: Hyperimperialism and the Fight for Sovereignty w/ Mikaela Nhondo Erskog

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This is a free preview of the episode "Alliance of Sahel States Pt. 3: Hyperimperialism w/ Mikaela Nhondo Erskog." You can listen to the full episode by subscribing to our Patreon here: As a Patreon subscriber you'll get access to at least one bonus episode a month (usually two or three), our entire back catalog of Patreon episodes, early access to certain episodes, and other benefits like stickers and bumper stickers—depending on which tier you subscribe to. access to bi-weekly bonus episodes ranging from conversations to readings and more. Signing up for Patreon is a great way to make...

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In Part 2 of our ongoing series on Venezuela, Chris Gilbert joins us to discuss Venezuela's socialist communes from a Marxist, anti-imperialist perspective. Chris Gilbert is a professor at Venezuela’s Bolivarian University and a writer based in Caracas. Grounded in a Marxist perspective, his research includes communes, socialist strategy, social reproduction theory, and imperialism. He's the author of Commune or Nothing! Venezuela’s Communal Movement and its Socialist Project and Venezuela, the Present as Struggle: Voices from the Bolivarian Revolution with Cira Pascual Marquina. He's also a co-host of the Marxist educational podcast and television program Escuela de Cuadros.

In this episode, we open with a discussion on the socialist commune itself and what Marx had to say about communes as they relate to socialism before we examine the Venezuelan commune movement, distinguishing it from the hippy communes of popular culture and also from more anarchist-inspired communes like the Zapatista Autonomous Regions in Chiapas or the communes of Rojava. We discuss the way the Bolivarian revolution unfolded from the early 1990s to the present and the role that communes have played in laying the foundations for anti-imperialism and socialism. In the second half of the conversation we take a look at current events, taking stock of the Trump administration's escalation of aggression and tackling the narrative of Venezuela as a narco-state, the Trump administration's obsession with Tren de Aragua, and more.

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