Substance, Spirit, Struggle: From Spinoza through Hegel to Marx (and Beyond)
Red Menace
In this unlocked patreon episode Breht traces and explains a subterranean philosophical lineage running from Spinoza through Hegel to Marx and Louis Althusser. Beginning with Spinoza’s conception of God or Nature as a single, immanent Substance, he explores how Hegel transforms Substance into a self-developing Subject, how Marx grounds the dialectic in material social life and class struggle, and how Althusser attempts to remove the final hidden Subject from Marxist theory. Along the way, he examines the concept of immanent critique, Kant’s transcendental idealism, Hegel’s master-slave...
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Democratic Socialist Electoral Victories and the Implications for American Politics
Red Menace
Alyson and Breht reflect on recent Democratic Socialist electoral victories, the ongoing contradiction between the progressive left and the corporate center within the Democratic Party, the principled and strategic approach to this development that Marxists should take, the implications for the near future of american politics, what it all means for the broader socialist left in this country, proletarian internationalism, the anti-imperialist red line, and much more. Learn more and support the show at Check out for more political educational resources
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Philosophy of Mind: Marxism, Materialism, and Dialectical Monism
Red Menace
In this episode, Breht O'Shea and Alyson Escalante join forces for a deep philosophical conversation on Marxism, consciousness, and the mind-body problem. Using as a starting point, they explore why the nature of subjective experience remains such a profound challenge for crude or reductionist forms of materialism -- and why this question matters for Marxists. Alyson begins by carefully summarizing Miéville’s original essay and its challenge to conventional Marxist materialism. From there, Breht lays out several major positions in the philosophy of mind, including dualism, physicalism,...
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Alyson and Breht Answer Your Questions
Red Menace
Alyson and Breht spend three hours answering your questions about politics, theory, socialist stragey and much more! Watch the video version on Youtube ----------------------------------------------------------------- Follow, Subscribe, & Learn more about Rev Left Radio
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The Worldwide Family of Militant Women
Red Menace
In this episode, Breht and Alyson sit down with to discuss her new memoir, . Eisen reflects on her political formation across the upheavals of the 1960s through the early 1980s, her encounters with Black liberation and anti-imperialist struggle, and the forgotten history of militant women who built relationships of solidarity across borders. Together they explore internationalism, revolutionary commitment, movement fragmentation, and what younger generations can still learn from an era when women fought empire not from the margins, but from the heart of the struggle. The result is a rich...
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The Iran War: A Dialectical and Historical Materialist Analysis
Red Menace
Alyson and Breht apply dialectical and historical materialist analysis to the current war of aggression in Iran. Together they break down the Marxist methodology into its three main parts - dialectics, materialism, and history - and showcase how they apply to the US and Israeli war on Iran, before bringing them back together into a coherent whole. Then they compare and contrast dialectical and historical materialism as a mode of analysis to other forms of analysis: from academic modes like liberal internationalism and Realism to common popular modes like conspiracy theories and moralism. ...
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Iran Under Attack
Red Menace
On this YT livestream (3/1/26) Alyson and Breht discuss the illegal war of aggression launched by the US and Israel against Iran. Throughout the discussion they take live questions from the chat. ---------------------------------------------------- Support Rev Left and get access to bonus episodes: Make a one-time donation to Rev Left at Follow, Subscribe, & Learn more about Rev Left Radio
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Guillotines for the Epstein Class
Red Menace
Alyson and Breht discuss a range of current events, including Cuba, the Epstein Files, Iran and much more. Make a donation to Socialist Night School via Venmo @OmahaNightSchool Outro Song: "to each their dot" by Haley Heynderickx & Max Garcia Conover
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Minneapolis on Fire
Red Menace
Breht discusses recent events in Minneapolis... --------------------------------------------------------------------- Outro Music: Haley Heynderickx & Max García Conover - Song For Alicia
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Jesus Christ Beyond Belief: A Mystical Reading of the Gospels
Red Menace
In this Christmas special, Alyson and Breht reinterpret Jesus through Jewish mysticism, Christian contemplative traditions, and Buddhist conceptions of Enlightenment, offering an understanding of his teachings and words as attempts to articulate the ineffable and non-dual, rather than metaphysical propositions to be believed. Drawing heavily on the Gospels, the Gospel of Thomas, the Christian concept of Agape, and early Christian scholarship, they explore the possibility of a Christianity beyond fear, hell, and conceptual belief -- one rooted in a radical transformation of consciousness, a...
info_outlineIn this episode of Red Menace, Breht and Alyson dive into Mao Zedong’s pivotal 1957 speech On the Correct Handling of Contradictions Among the People. This foundational text offers insight into Mao’s dialectical approach to politics, particularly in navigating the complex terrain of class struggle within socialist society.
Together they explore Mao’s crucial distinction between antagonistic and non-antagonistic contradictions, and how this distinction can guide revolutionary praxis. The discussion includes an analysis of the “unity–struggle–unity” dialectic, the historical context and lessons of the Hundred Flowers and Hundred Schools campaigns, and the subsequent Anti-Rightist backlash. They also examine Mao’s critique of Han chauvinism and draw parallels to white chauvinism in the contemporary U.S., as well as Mao's position on Tibet and the historical legacy of how that conflict played out, and how it is still weaponized today.
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