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Ep 67 - The Stalin Eras, Part 2: Discussion (1930-1934)

Proles Pod

Release Date: 11/04/2024

Ep 86 - Anti-Capitalist Sci-Fi Decoded: Andor, Hunger Games, and Severance show art Ep 86 - Anti-Capitalist Sci-Fi Decoded: Andor, Hunger Games, and Severance

Proles Pod

What do Andor, The Hunger Games, and Severance really say about capitalism and socialist revolution? In this episode of Prolespod, we critically examine these popular sci-fi and dystopian series through a socialist lens. We unpack the anti-capitalist themes, revolutionary narratives, and class struggle depicted in each — and ask how far these shows can really go while being produced by profit-driven corporations. Support the show and listen to the bonus episode which focuses on Sinners at  

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Proles Pod

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Ep 84 - Reform or Revolution (Part I of II) show art Ep 84 - Reform or Revolution (Part I of II)

Proles Pod

In this two-part Theory Episode, the ProlesPod Squad takes on one of the most influential texts in socialist history: "Reform or Revolution" (1898) by Polish-German Marxist Rosa Luxemburg. Whether you're new to political theory, find socialist texts hard to get through, or just want to hear our unique take—this deep-dive is for you. We break it down, debate its meaning, and explore why this revolutionary classic still matters today.  

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Proles Pod

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Proles Pod

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Proles Pod

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Ep 80 - MMT, Austerity, and Imperialism show art Ep 80 - MMT, Austerity, and Imperialism

Proles Pod

Virginia and Steve from / join Justin and Jeremy in a discussion of Modern Monetary Theory, how it can be used as a radicalizing tool, as well as what it means in the grand scheme of global economics. We go even more in depth on our Patreon exclusive bonus episode, so make sure you don't miss it! You can sign up at  where you get access to early release episodes, study guides, the aforementioned bonus episodes, TheoryBeats, and MORE! YOU CAN DO SO FOR FREE, which will get you the study guides, merch, and other random drops. Please subscribe on your favorite podcast catcher and rate...

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Ep 79 - Soviet Cartoons & Raising Socialist Children show art Ep 79 - Soviet Cartoons & Raising Socialist Children

Proles Pod

The Proles Squad is joined by communist Youtuber to talk about their recent work on soviet children's cartoons, women's liberation in the USSR, and socialist child rearing!  Sign up at  where you can get access to early release episodes, study guides, bonus episodes, TheoryBeats, and MORE! YOU CAN DO SO FOR FREE, which will get you the study guides, merch, and other random drops. Please subscribe on your favorite podcast catcher and rate or review to help extend our reach. Like and rate us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter  and Tiktok @proles.pod. If you have any...

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Ep 78 - The Stalin Eras, Part 6: Conclusions show art Ep 78 - The Stalin Eras, Part 6: Conclusions

Proles Pod

In the FINAL main-feed episode of the Stalin Eras, we sat back and took a look at where we started and where we ended up. Were we successful in what we set out to do? What did we learn? What do we hope listeners learned? How did the process change us? We answer these and more. Please comment what you learned, something that surprised you. We would love to see them. 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...

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Ep 77 - The Stalin Eras, Part 5: Criticisms and Contradictions show art Ep 77 - The Stalin Eras, Part 5: Criticisms and Contradictions

Proles Pod

The much anticipated criticisms and contradictions episode of The Stalin Eras! In this episode we wrestle with the following controversies during Stalin’s leadership of the USSR: the Gulag, anti-homosexuality laws, anti-abortion Laws, the “Final” Contradiction, and more! You don’t want to miss this one!  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...

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In the discussion for Part Two of “The Stalin Eras”, the gang responds to questions from Jen (aka Big Nasty), host of How the Red Was Won and overall badass comrade. The years in focus are, again, 1930-1934, and based upon the previous episode (which you should listen to if you haven't already).

We talk Stalin's sigma male grindset, writing letters to the man himself, the rise of fascism, and the contradictions facing the USSR at this time.

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 and get bonus content at patreon.com/prolespod

Recomended Resources on "Holodomor" as Genocide Question

Academics who do not consider the Ukraine famine of 1932-1933 to be a genocide include: J. Arch Getty, Stephen Wheatcroft, Mark Tauger, R.W Davies, Hiroaki Kuromiya, Ronald Grigor Suny, Stephen Kotkin to name a few.

Recommended Additional Reading

Stalin History & Critique of a Black Legend  by Domenico Losurdo

Another View of Stalin by Ludo Martens 

Recommended Additional Listening

Stalin: A Marxist-Leninist Perspective 

Foundations of Leninism 

Episode Sources

The Lesser of Two Hells by Alvin D Coox

Practicing Stalinism by J Arch Getty

Excesses Are Not Permitted byJ Arch Getty

Origins of the Great Purges by J Arch Getty

I Change Worlds by Anna Louise Strong

I Was Stalin's Bodyguard by Achmed Amba

The Pattern Of Soviet Power by Edgar Snow

Revolution on my Mind by Jochen Hellbeck

Stalin's Library by Geoffrey Roberts

The Great Conspiracy by Michael Sayers & Albert E Kahn

Conjuring Hitler by Guido Giacomo Preparata

Molotov Remembers, Conversations with Felix Chuev

Black Bolshevik by Harry Haywood

Teachers of Stalinism by E Thomas Ewing

Stalin: From the Caucasus to the Kremlin, Christopher Read, 2017, Routledge Publishing 

Next to Stalin by A.T. Rybin

Betrayal of an Ideal by G.A. Tokaev

Soviet Famine 1930–1933: "The Law of Spikelets" Myth Explained by Polistrum

In Search of New Facts: Interwar Japanese Military Intelligence Activities in the Baltic States and Finland: 1918–1940 by Shingo Masunaga,

Wrestling with Aspects of Interwar Stalinism by William J. Chase,

Why I resigned from the Trotsky Defense Committee by Mauritz Alfred Hallgren, 1937, International Publishers

Muder at the Kemerovo Mines by Ernst Fischer

Trial of the Major War Criminals before the International Military Tribunal (Nuremberg, 1949), Vol. 29

The Goebbels Diaries: 1942-1943 by Joseph Goebbels,

“Secret Hitler-Benes Negotiations in 1936-37.” bt Gerhard L. Weinberg

The Road to Terror. Stalin and the Self-Destruction of the Bolsheviks by  J. Arch Getty and Oleg V. Naumov

Russian Soviet Archives

U.S. Archives, Library of Congress

Czech Republic Archives

Vienna Bureau of the Austrian Chancellor

The Red Book, Leon Sedov, 1936, Byulletin Oppositsii, Nos.52-53, October 1936

The Prophet Outcast: Trotsky, (1929–1940), Isaac Deutscher, 1963, Vintage Russian Library

The Russian Enigma, Ante Ciliga, 1940, Pluto Press

“Red Wreckers in Russia.”,by John D Littlepage

My Life,  byLeon Trotsky

Leon Sedov: Son, Friend, Fighter, Leon Trotsky

Harvard Trotsky Archive, Houghton Library, Harvard University

The Great Terror. A Reassessment by Robert Conquest

Bukharin and the Bolshevik Revolution 1888-1938 by Stephen Cohen

The Kirov Murder and Soviet History by Matthew Lenoe

Many, many diaries published on https://prozhito.org/