The Public Sphere
This is a pilot episode for a podcast on the work. Original music by Samuel Haines.
info_outline Free as in MarketThe Public Sphere
Pete and Luke talk about Elizabeth Anderson’s Tanner Lectures in Human Values: "Liberty, Equality, and Private Government." Anderson says we don’t really understand the relationship between the “free market” and some of our most cherished political ideals, namely freedom and equality. This has lead us to overlook how the modern workplace has become politically authoritarian even as it is championed by free market ideologues.
info_outline The New LeftThe Public Sphere
Rafael Khachaturian and Sean Guillory visit to talk about their new article "Mapping the American Left." Both have been on the podcast before. Their article lists a few challenges faced by the Left in America.
info_outline Reacting to the State of EmergencyThe Public Sphere
In a shorter episode, Pete and Luke are astounded by President Trump's declaration of a State of Emergency in order to find money for his border wall. The Public Sphere is a podcast from Contrivers Review.
info_outline Research Interests: NeoliberalismThe Public Sphere
A discussion about neoliberalism as a political and theoretical concept arising out of research research and reading. The Public Sphere is a podcast from Contrivers' Review.
info_outline The Literal Opium of the MassesThe Public Sphere
Pete and Luke discuss a controversial article from Andrew Sullivan, "America's New Religions," in New York Magazine. They debate the differences between small-L liberalism and small-C conservatism in political theory. They also probe the role played by religion in providing the background cultural resources for stable political disagreements (as Sullivan seems to believe it must).
info_outline Representing the Working ClassThe Public Sphere
Pete talks with frequent guest Wes Bishop about how politics (mis-)characterizes and stereotypes the working class.
info_outline PartisanshipThe Public Sphere
Pete and Luke discuss a few articles about party politics in America. The Public Sphere is a podcast from Contrivers Review.
info_outline Reconsidering Fascism in AmericaThe Public Sphere
On this episode, Luke and Pete discuss "Scary Clowns,” an article in the Baffler by Brendan O'Conner. Luke begins with a monologue about his growing fear of extremist right-wing violence. We consider the connections between more mainstream conservative groups and fascist groups like the Proud Boys. We discuss the racial polarization of politics, and how race has crystalized into a political differentiator. Finally, we consider the complicity by silence of the GOP.
info_outline Ryan Zinke and Public UseThe Public Sphere
Pete and Luke discuss Ryan Zinke, the scandal-ridden Secretary of the Interior. What does "public land for public use" mean? What is an "America First" energy policy? They also briefly revisit last week's topic, Matthew Whitaker, the newly appointed acting Attorney General. The Public Sphere is a podcast from Contrivers Review.
info_outlineJoining us today is Sean Guillory, who teaches in the Russian and East European Studies Center at the University of Pittsburgh. Sean has a Ph.D. in History from UCLA. He is the host of the Sean's Russia Blog Podcast, a weekly conversation on Eurasian politics, history, and culture. You can follow him on Twitter at @seansrussiablog and support him through Patreon.
Sean recently wrote a great essay for Contrivers' Review on the Russian Revolution. When I approached him for the piece, my idea was to get a meta-review: a discussion of all the takes on the Russian Revolution — a timely but controversial topic. What we got was a richer critique of how writers in general mistreat the Russian Revolution. In some ways, any history of a revolution might fall prey to these errors. But America's long history with Russia, Marxism, and anti-communism makes our reading of the Russian Revolution particularly vulnerable.
- Sean Guillory, "Making Sense of the Russian Revolution," Contrivers' Review.
- Baskar Sunkara, "The Few Who Won," Jacobin.
- Sheila Fitzpatrick, "What's Left?" London Review of Books.
- Vladimir Tismaneanu, "One Hundred Years of Communism," Public Seminar.
- Stephen Kotkin, Magnetic Mountain (University of California Press, 1997).
- Jochen Hellbeck, Revolution on My Mind: Writing a Diary Under Stalin (Havard University Press, 2009).
- Reds (1981).
- Edmund Wilson, To The Finland Station (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2012).
- Lars T. Lih, Lenin (Reaktion Books, 2012).
- Tsuyoshi Hasegawa, Crime and Punishment in the Russian Revolution: Mob Justice and Police in Petrograd (Belknap Press, 2017)
- Mark Steinberg, The Russian Revolution, 1905-1921 (Oxford University Press, 2017)
- China Miéville, October: The Story of the Russian Revolution (Verso, 2017).
- Mikhail Zygar, All the Kremlin's Men (PublicAffairs, 2017).
The Public Sphere is a podcast from Contrivers' Review.
Visit www.contrivers.org to read great essays and interviews. You can also sign up for our newsletter, follow us on Twitter, or like our Facebook page. If you have a suggestion for the podcast, or an essay or review you'd like to pitch, get in touch with us through social media or email. The Public Sphere is on iTunes where you can rate and review us.
Thanks for listening.
Our cover art a modified version of a photo from the Fonds André Cros, preserved by the city archives of Toulouse and released under CC BY-SA 4.0 license by the deliberation n°27.3 of June 23rd, 2017 of the Town Council of the City of Toulouse.