Actually Existing Socialism
A podcast dedicated to exploring, past, present, and future real world manifestations of Actually Existing Socialism by talking to those who've studied, lived in, or currently live in a socialist country.
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How to Visit North Korea w/ Zoe Stephens
03/12/2024
How to Visit North Korea w/ Zoe Stephens
This episode features Zoe Stephens (@Zoediscoversnk), an experienced tour guide to North Korea (DPRK). Using her own experience, knowledge, footage and education - Zoe’s goal is to present a image of North Korea that aims to humanize the people of the DPRK in ways that are rarely seen in the West. She tells us what is required to visit on a guided tour, what to expect, what are some common misconceptions, and even the fascinating opportunity to stay for a few days with a North Korean family outside of Pyongyang. This episode was recorded in 2023 - before the re-opening of the border for tourism - so while we speak to the expectation of re-opening it has now happened as of early 2024. Link to all of Zoe's social media/project pages:
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Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic 102: Post-World War II to Present w/ Iskolat
02/28/2024
Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic 102: Post-World War II to Present w/ Iskolat
Iskolat, a Latvian communist, returns to teach us more about the shrouded history of Latvia, which was a part of the Soviet Union, officially known as the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic continuously from 1944 to 1990. In this second and final part we’ll be discussing the post-World War II era of building socialism in Latvia and the Baltics at large. We cover the successes of socialist construction, its weaknesses, and ultimately the downfall of soviet system in Latvia in the early 1990s and how that played out. Iskolat also delves into present day realities of Latvia that don’t always make international news. www.patreon.com/aesthepodcast Isoklat twitter: Workers' Struggle (English/Latvian/multilang): BalticSSRs (Reddit): Riga History Group (Russian): School of Scientific Communism/Ruslan Dzugov Channel (Russian section): Dictatorship of the Proletariat (YT channel of the Russian section of the Political School): Anna Louise Strong's The New Lithuania: The Baltic Riddle by Greg Meiksins:
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Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic 101: Pre-history to World War II w/ Iskolat
01/30/2024
Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic 101: Pre-history to World War II w/ Iskolat
Iskolat, a Latvian communist, joins to show to teach us about the shrouded history of Latvia, which was a part of the Soviet Union (officially known as the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic) continuously from 1944 to 1990. In this first part we’ll be discussing the pre-history of the socialist republic by delving into the conditions of what would become Latvia in the early 20th century to the eventual socialist revolution of the early 1940s. When I say the history covered here from the Communist POV is almost impossible to find in English, I am not exaggerating, I hope you find this discussion as informative and enlightening as I have. Isoklat twitter: BalticSSRs (Reddit): Telegram: Workers' Struggle (English/Latvian/multilang): Telegram: Riga History Group (Russian): Telegram: School of Scientific Communism/Ruslan Dzugov Channel (Russian section): Telegram: Dictatorship of the Proletariat (YT channel of the Russian section of the Political School):
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The Propaganda War Against China w/ Carlos Martinez
01/16/2024
The Propaganda War Against China w/ Carlos Martinez
Carlos Martinez () joins the show to talk about his excellent book "The East Is Still Red: Chinese Socialism in the 21st Century". In this final part of a three part discussion we’ll be discussing the propaganda war against China and the socialist developments all leftists should be following. Carlos Martinez is an author and political activist from London, Britain. His first book, The End of the Beginning: Lessons of the Soviet Collapse, was published in 2019 by LeftWord Books. He is a co-editor of Friends of Socialist China, a co-founder of No Cold War, and a coordinating committee member of the International Manifesto Group. He writes regularly in the Morning Star, Global Times, China Daily and CGTN. Carlos' website: Carlos' youtube: Support this podcast at Podcast twitter @aesthepodcast Intro/Outro Music:
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Is China a democracy? w/ Carlos Martinez
12/19/2023
Is China a democracy? w/ Carlos Martinez
Carlos Martinez () joins the show to talk about his excellent book "The East Is Still Red: Chinese Socialism in the 21st Century". In this second part of a three part discussion we’ll be delving into how China operates as a socialist democracy. We'll be answering what that means, talk about some accomplishments as well how it differs from Western liberal democracies. Carlos Martinez is an author and political activist from London, Britain. His first book, The End of the Beginning: Lessons of the Soviet Collapse, was published in 2019 by LeftWord Books. He is a co-editor of Friends of Socialist China, a co-founder of No Cold War, and a coordinating committee member of the International Manifesto Group. He writes regularly in the Morning Star, Global Times, China Daily and CGTN. Carlos' website: Carlos' youtube: Support this podcast at Podcast twitter @aesthepodcast Intro/Outro Music:
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How China Avoided The Soviet Union's Fate w/ Carlos Martinez
12/12/2023
How China Avoided The Soviet Union's Fate w/ Carlos Martinez
Carlos Martinez (@agent_of_change) joins the show to talk about his excellent book "The East Is Still Red: Chinese Socialism in the 21st Century". In this first part of this three part discussion on China we’ll be delving into why socialist China remains but the USSR doesnt. We'll be tackling this question through the lens of how these two communist juggernauts approached the necessity of controversial political and economic reforms in the 1970s in China under Deng Xiaoping and in the USSR under Mikhail Gorbachev in the 1980s. Next episodes in this series will look at Chinese socialist democracy, and the propaganda war against it! Carlos Martinez is an author and political activist from London, Britain. His first book, The End of the Beginning: Lessons of the Soviet Collapse, was published in 2019 by LeftWord Books. He is a co-editor of Friends of Socialist China, a co-founder of No Cold War, and a coordinating committee member of the International Manifesto Group. He writes regularly in the Morning Star, Global Times, China Daily and CGTN. Carlos' website: Carlos' youtube: Support this podcast at Podcast twitter @aesthepodcast Intro/Outro Music:
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Black Girl From Pyongyang, North Korea w/ Monica Macias (PATREON PREVIEW)
12/08/2023
Black Girl From Pyongyang, North Korea w/ Monica Macias (PATREON PREVIEW)
Monica Macias joins the show to discuss her book "Black Girl From Pyongyang: In Search of My Identity" which covers the harrowing tale of her life journey from post-colonial Equatorial Guinea ,where she was born, to finding herself under the guardianship of Kim Il Sung - the revolutionary founding father of the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) also known as North Korea. This is a preview of a patreon-only exclusive. Listen to the full episode by supporting the show at
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The Czechoslovak Socialist Republic (1948-1990) w/ Julia Mead
11/30/2023
The Czechoslovak Socialist Republic (1948-1990) w/ Julia Mead
In this episode we’ll be discussing the subject of Julia Mead's () PHD research on an often forgotten socialist nation: the nation formerly known as the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. Julia covers for us the pre-history, emergence of the communist state, political struggles as well as socialist successes and failures. She also gives us some insight as to why this socialist nation often falls to the wayside in popular Western imagination. Julia Mead is an environmental historian of modern Eastern Europe, with a particular focus on energy, gender, and labor. Her dissertation, “Socialist Rust Belt: Energy, Masculinity, and the End of Czechoslovak Socialism,” traces the rise and fall of the Czechoslovak coal economy from 1948 to 2004, and its relationship to changing norms of masculinity. She shows how coal miners in socialist Czechoslovakia achieved an elite social status, and how they lost it almost overnight during the transition to capitalism. Follow Julia at and Support the show at
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Stalin vs MLK Jr: Soviet Anti-colonialism & Anti-racism w/ Henry Hakamäki & Salvatore Engel-Di Mauro
11/23/2023
Stalin vs MLK Jr: Soviet Anti-colonialism & Anti-racism w/ Henry Hakamäki & Salvatore Engel-Di Mauro
Henry Hakamäki (), host of Guerrilla History podcast () and Professor Salvatore Engel-Di Mauro join the show to talk about their recent english translation of historian Domenico Losurdo's "Stalin: History and Critique of a Black Legend". This episode is the second and final part of a longer discussion. In this part we move into the specifics of the often airbrushed history of anti-racist and anti-colonial policies under Stalin’s Soviet Union and even ponder whether Stalin’s impact on these material objectives was more substantive than that of civil rights figure and fellow socialist - Martin Luther King Jr. We also discuss the equally airbrushed links between liberal democracies and nazi fascism. In the spirit of Domenico Lusurdo we continue to deconstruct, evaluate, and critique the black legends attributed to Stalin. You can access a free (yes, free!) copy of the PDF and/or order a physical copy at Henry and Salvatore have talked at length about the process of translation and who Domeinco Lusurdo is in the discussion linked below. https://www.patreon.com/aesthepodcast
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Critiquing Stalin's Black Legend w/ Henry Hakamäki & Salvatore Engel-Di Mauro
11/13/2023
Critiquing Stalin's Black Legend w/ Henry Hakamäki & Salvatore Engel-Di Mauro
Henry Hakamäki (), host of Guerrilla History podcast () and Professor Salvatore Engel Di-Mauro join the show to talk about their recent english translation of historian Domenico Losurdo's "Stalin: History and Critique of a Black Legend". This episode is the first part of a longer discussion. In this part we talk about what a black legend even is, the general thesis behind Domenico Losurdo’s controversial book, what academic consensus has to say about the realities and myths surrounding historical presentations of Stalin, and how his often distorted legacy impacts left wing movements to this day. And that just gets us started! You can access a free (yes, free!) copy of the PDF and/or order a physical copy at Henry and Salvatore have talked at length about the process of translation and who Domeinco Lusurdo is in the discussion linked below. You can always support the show at and don't forget to follow on twitter .
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Explaining North Korea (DPRK) w/ Ben Weston
11/07/2023
Explaining North Korea (DPRK) w/ Ben Weston
Ben Weston (@BenWestonDPRK), host of the popular "DPRK Explained" youtube channel, joins the show to discuss his insightful experiences visiting North Korea (also known as the DPRK) multiple times as a tour guide. We cover his channel, do some myth-busting about the Democratic Republic of Korea, get a short intro to socialist Mongolia and more!
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How the Soviet "Threat" Benefited Workers in the West w/ Alice Malone
08/16/2023
How the Soviet "Threat" Benefited Workers in the West w/ Alice Malone
In this episode we discuss Alice Malone's essay entitled “Concessions” which contains a well sourced and foundational explanation regarding 20th century history that every socialist should be aware of! Alice illustrates how the gains and progressive feats won by workers of the Soviet Union challenged capitalist elites in the West to concede social reforms in their own countries. Reforms such as desegregation, home ownership, investment in education, public health care and more! We cover some of these concessions as well as how they have been noticeably negatively impacted by the dissolution of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s. Alice's article: Alice's app on word frequency's in Marxist texts: Intro/Outro Music:
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Was the Soviet Union totalitarian? w/ Robert Thurston
07/18/2023
Was the Soviet Union totalitarian? w/ Robert Thurston
Robert Thurston, historian of Soviet history, joins the show to talk about his extensive archival research focused on the infamous “Great Terror” or mass arrests of 1937-1938. In doing so Robert rebuts the perrenial anti-communist argument - the claim that the Soviet Union under Stalin was totalitarian! We also discuss the impact his research had on his career, the role CIA, MI5 and other capitalist intelligence services played in the manufacturing of soviet history for western audiences and much more! Robert's Blog: Robert's Coffee Bussiness:
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Is Cuba A State Sponsor of Terror? w/ Calla Walsh & Aeron
06/20/2023
Is Cuba A State Sponsor of Terror? w/ Calla Walsh & Aeron
Calla Walsh and Aeron join the show to talk about the absurd imperialist rationales and devestating impacts of Cuba's placement on the US State Departments State Sponsor of Terror list. Calla is a co-chair of the National Network on Cuba (). Aeron is a member of the Michigan General Defense Committee (). Help support the show by signing up to our patreon, where you also will get bonus content:
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How to Stand in Solidarity with Cuba w/ Calla Walsh & Aeron
06/12/2023
How to Stand in Solidarity with Cuba w/ Calla Walsh & Aeron
Calla Walsh and Aeron join the show to talk about ways we can all stand in solidarity with Cuba and why engaging in internationalism is a necessary path to socialism both at home and abroad. Calla is a co-chair of the National Network on Cuba (). Aeron is a member of the Michigan General Defense Committee (). Help support the show by signing up to our patreon, where you also will get bonus content:
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How Stalin Tried to Prevent World War II w/ Michael Jabara Carley
03/24/2023
How Stalin Tried to Prevent World War II w/ Michael Jabara Carley
Michael Jabara Carley joins the show to talk about his extensive and decades long archival research into Soviet international relations. He focuses particularly on the attempts by Joseph Stalin (in the 6 years leading up to World War II) to build a grand alliance with Britain, France and other European nations against Nazi Germany. This was a call to maintain peace which ultimately was left unheeded leading to the devastating outbreak of World War II. In Western memory this attempted alliance has become overshadowed by the infamous and often decontextualized signing of Molotov-Ribbentrop Non Agression Pact between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union in 1939. We get into the details of this complex and important history in this episode. More info about what we covered in this episode can be freely found at: COMING SOON Episode Credits Opening Interlude Music/Outro Music: Opening Interlude Voiceover: Opening Music:
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Uneasy Comrades: Socialist Ghana & the Soviet Union w/ Nana Osei-Opare
03/08/2023
Uneasy Comrades: Socialist Ghana & the Soviet Union w/ Nana Osei-Opare
Nana Osei-Opare joins the show to discuss his extensive academic work on Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s socialist period, and Ghana's relationship with the Soviet Union during the Cold War. In this episode’s discussion we examine why anti-colonial figures in Africa favored an alliance with the Soviet Union over the capitalist West. We assess Ghana’s socialist period and Kwame Nkrumah's socialist program which began in 1957 right after independence and ran until1966 when it was ended by a military coup. We uncover the truth of the relationship between Ghana and the Soviet Union during the Cold War which ties directly into the sucesses and failures of Soviet Anti-Racism. Also Nana picks apart a popular modern portrayal of Kwame Nkrumah as seen in the Netflix miniseries the Crown. And more! More info about what we covered in this episode can be freely found at: https://www.patreon.com/posts/79917448 Episode Credits Opening Interlude Music: Opening Interlude Voiceover: Outro Music:
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How Cuba, the USSR, and East Germany Ended Apartheid w/ Gerald Horne
02/21/2023
How Cuba, the USSR, and East Germany Ended Apartheid w/ Gerald Horne
Gerald Horne, a prolific communist historian, joins the show to discuss his 2019 book "White Supremacy Confronted". This work focuses on the socialist bloc's vital collaboration with the African National Congress (ANC) and South African Communist Party to end apartheid in southern Africa. In this episode we start with the origins of European settler colonialism in Southern Africa and how that led to the emergence of the white supremacist system of apartheid in the 20th century. Horne’s expansive knowledge of history takes us back and forth across the globe and time - highlighting the class collaboration between working people and elites that is inherent to European settler projects from southern Africa to the United States. A class collaboration which bolstered the support of apartheid in the West. Most importantly we go into detail about what various socialist countries specifically did to turn the tide in favor of the African resistance to apartheid. And we end on what the collapse of the socialist bloc in the early 90s meant for a South Africa in transition! More info about what we covered in this episode can be freely found at: https://www.patreon.com/posts/78957219 Episode Credits Opening Interlude Music: Opening Interlude Voiceover: Opening Snippet Music/Outro Music:
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Laos: Socialist Democracy & Culture w/ Holly High
02/07/2023
Laos: Socialist Democracy & Culture w/ Holly High
Holly High, an anthropologist who does field work in Laos, joins the show to discuss her book, "Projectland: Life in a Lao Socialist Model Village". In this final part of our two part discussion we look at socialist democracy and culture in Laos. We cover what political participation looks like in Laos today including the real life functioning of a one party socialist state, democratic centralism, and consultative democracy. We also talk about what “culture” and “policy” means in Laos and the wider socialist tradition and how it differs from liberal notions of those concepts and much more!' More info about Holly's work and this episode's discussion can be found at: Episode Credits Intro Music: Opening Interlude Voiceover: Opening Interlude Music/Outro Music:
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Laos: The Revolutionary Origins of the Forgotten Socialist Country w/ Holly High
01/24/2023
Laos: The Revolutionary Origins of the Forgotten Socialist Country w/ Holly High
Holly High, an anthropologist who does field work in Laos, joins the show to discuss her book, "Projectland: Life in a Lao Socialist Model Village". In this first part of our two part discussion we look at the revolutionary origins of Laos. We begin with the pre-revolutionary period when Lao was under colonial rule and end with the successful People's War of 1945-1975 including the horrific bombing campaign carried out by the US which shapes the country to this day. Holly leads us into this history through the lens of the ethnic minority Kantu people whose experience and culture give a unique perspective of Laos’ successful socialist revolution. More info about this episode can be found at: https://www.patreon.com/posts/laos-origins-of-77299787 Intro Music: Opening Interlude Voiceover: Opening Interlude Music/Outro Music:
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The American Soldier Who Defected to East Germany (Part 2) w/ Victor Grossman
10/25/2022
The American Soldier Who Defected to East Germany (Part 2) w/ Victor Grossman
We continue the enlightening discussion with Victor Grossman, a former American soldier who defected to East Germany in 1952. In this concluding episode we cover Victor's life as a journalist in East Germany and what that meant in terms of censorship and free expression, his bombshell reporting on "former" Nazi's active in the West Germant government and in the nascent North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), his perspectives on the Berlin Wall as an East Berliner, his run ins with the East German Stasi and the American FBI, as well as what led to the eventual demise of the East Germany also known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR). Victor brings his unique and balanced perspective laying out both the positive and negatives of this former nation that was committed to building socialism. The two memoirs he wrote recounting his life story are called "Crossing the River — A Memoir of the American Left, the Cold War, and Life in East Germany" and "A Socialist Defector: From Harvard to Karl-Marx-Allee". This is part two of a two part discussion. More info regarding our discussion can be found on the patreon posting of this episode: (COMING SOON)
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The American Soldier Who Defected to East Germany (Part 1) w/ Victor Grossman
10/05/2022
The American Soldier Who Defected to East Germany (Part 1) w/ Victor Grossman
Victor Grossman, a former American solider who defected to East Germany in 1952, joins the show to discuss his remarkable life and experiences in this short lived socialist nation. We cover Victor's activism in the American communist movement of the 1940s including his participation in the Black freedom struggle of that era, the circumstances surrounding his defection, and what life was actually like living in a nation committed to building socialism - both the good and bad. The two memoirs he wrote recounting his life story are called "Crossing the River — A Memoir of the American Left, the Cold War, and Life in East Germany" and "A Socialist Defector: From Harvard to Karl-Marx-Allee". This is part one of a two part discussion. More info regarding our discussion can be found on the patreon posting of this episode: https://www.patreon.com/posts/72903231 Episode Credits Intro Music: () Opening Interlude Voice Over: (y) Opening Interlude Music: ()
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Unlearning Marx: Why the Soviet Failure was a Triumph for Marx w/ Steve Paxton
09/20/2022
Unlearning Marx: Why the Soviet Failure was a Triumph for Marx w/ Steve Paxton
Steve Paxton, joins the show to discuss his book, "Unlearning Marx: Why the Soviet Failure was a Triumph for Marx". The book focuses on Marx's theory of history and how Marx foresaw the unsustainability of a successful socialist revolution in the Soviet Union decades before it formed. Some of what we talk about in this episode includes understanding what conservatives and socialists have to "unlearn" about Marx, we dissect and debunk popular anti-socialist critiques such as "Socialism Always Fails" and "Communism killed 100 million people" and we review the history of the Soviet Union through the lens of Marx's theory of history which reveals an ironic outcome! More info regarding our discussion can be found on the patreon posting of this episode: (COMING SOON)
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East Germany: Stasi State or Socialist Paradise? w/Bruni de la Motte
08/23/2022
East Germany: Stasi State or Socialist Paradise? w/Bruni de la Motte
Bruni de la Motte, born and raised in East Germany, joins the show to discuss her book "Stasi State or Socialist Paradise?: The German Democratic Republic and What Became of It". The purpose of her book, which she co-authored with John Greene, is to provide a more balanced take on East Germany then what is popularly remembered of this ambitious socialist experiment. Some of what we cover includes looking at the German left in the lead up to the second World War and their dire predicament under Nazi rule; why East and West Germany were split in the first place; the Berlin Wall; triumphs of their socialist system, Bruni's experiences living there, and valid criticisms of East Germany that eventually led to it's demise. More info regarding our discussion can be found on the patreon posting of this episode: https://www.patreon.com/posts/70904608
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Stalin's Constitution & Life in 1930s Soviet Union w/ Samantha Lomb
08/04/2022
Stalin's Constitution & Life in 1930s Soviet Union w/ Samantha Lomb
Samantha Lomb, a PHD in Russian history, joins the show to discuss her book "Stalin’s Constitution: Soviet Participatory Politics and the Discussion of the 1936 Draft Constitution". Based on her studies of soviet archives Samantha guides us through a discussion of how the average Soviet citizen participated in reforming their new constitution in 1936 (one of the most progressive constitutions ever written!) ; the role of the press in their society, what living on a collective farm was like, the endemic lawlessness and violence of the countryside; the purges of 1936-1937 and addressing whether calling the Soviet Union "totalitarian" holds any validity. And that is just a taste! Samantha's "free to access" book and more information regarding our discussion can be found on the patreon posting of this episode: Episode Credits Intro: () Outro: Opening Interlude Voiceover: () Opening Interlude Music: (
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Cuba's Socialist Democracy vs. America's Capitalist "Democracy" w/ Calla Walsh
07/19/2022
Cuba's Socialist Democracy vs. America's Capitalist "Democracy" w/ Calla Walsh
Calla Walsh, anti-imperialist writer and organizer, joins the show to discuss her article published in Multipolarista titled "Abortion in Cuba vs US shows which country is truly democratic". We cover her organizing experiences and her recent visit to Cuba as a member of a her local Cuba solidarity group. In our in-depth discussion we compare the reality of Cuba's thriving socialist democracy to that of the illusory capitalist democracy of the United States through examining protections and status of abortion rights in the two countries. Calla can be found on twitter: @CallaWalsh To learn more about the National Network on Cuba check out: The article and more information regarding our discussion can be found on the patreon posting of this episode: Episode Credits Intro/Outro: Opening Interlude Voiceover: ( Opening Interlude Music: (
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The Indigenous Peoples of the Soviet Union (Part 2) w/ Alice and Dennis Bartels (Part 2)
07/06/2022
The Indigenous Peoples of the Soviet Union (Part 2) w/ Alice and Dennis Bartels (Part 2)
Alice and Dennis Bartels, authors of "When the North Was Red: Aboriginal Education in Soviet Siberia", join the show to discuss their extensive ethnographic research of the Indigenous (also known as Northern) peoples of the Soviet Union. We cover the experience of the various Northern peoples before, during, and after Soviet socialism and how it greatly differed from the genocidal experience of the Indigenous peoples of North America. The Bartels also give us insight into their own experience of living in the Soviet Union to conduct their research at the height of the Cold War. This is part two of a two part discussion. More information regarding what we discussed and articles written by the Bartels be found on the patreon posting of this episode: https://www.patreon.com/posts/69226790 Episode Credits Intro/Outro: Opening Interlude Voice Over: () Opening Interlude Music: (")
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The Indigenous Peoples of the Soviet Union (Part 1) w/ Alice and Dennis Bartels (Part 1)
06/21/2022
The Indigenous Peoples of the Soviet Union (Part 1) w/ Alice and Dennis Bartels (Part 1)
Alice and Dennis Bartels, authors of "When the North Was Red: Aboriginal Education in Soviet Siberia", join the show to discuss their extensive ethnographic research of the Indigenous (also known as Northern) peoples of the Soviet Union. We cover the experience of the various Northern peoples before, during, and after Soviet socialism and how it greatly differed from the genocidal experience of the Indigenous peoples of North America. The Bartels also give us insight into their own experience of living in the Soviet Union to conduct their research at the height of the Cold War. This is part one of a two part discussion. More information regarding what we discussed and articles written by the Bartels be found on the patreon posting of this episode: https://www.patreon.com/posts/69218802 Episode Credits Intro/Outro: Opening Interlude Voice Over: Opening Interlude Music: ()
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What Has Socialism Ever Done For Women? w/ Julia Mead
06/06/2022
What Has Socialism Ever Done For Women? w/ Julia Mead
Julia Mead joins the show to discuss the article she co-authored with Kristen Ghodsee entitled "What Has Socialism Ever Done For Women?" From abortion rights to women's unions the Soviet Union was a leader in the fight for women's equality. In this enlightening episode Julia expertly explains the ideas of 19th century socialist feminism, the realization of these ideas in the struggle for women's rights in the Soviet Union and other Eastern Bloc countries, and finally the lasting impacts of those achievements! The article and more information regarding what we discussed and Julia's work can be found on the patreon posting of this episode: https://www.patreon.com/posts/69210703 Episode Credits Intro/Outro: Opening Interlude Voiceover: ( Opening Interlude Music: (
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Socialism v. Capitalism: The Empirical Data w/Howard Waitzkin
05/23/2022
Socialism v. Capitalism: The Empirical Data w/Howard Waitzkin
Premier episode! Dr. Howard Waitzkin joins the show to discuss his landmark 1986 study which compares physical quality of life (life span, literacy rates, education accessibility, infant mortality rate etc.) between capitalist and socialist nations at the same level of development. The study demonstrates conclusively the material benefits of a socialist political economy. Some of the stuff we cover in this discussion includes origins of the study, it's startling conclusions, how it was received after publication (including criticisms), what this study would like replicated in 2022, and even how socialist countries have tackled COVID-19! Links to the study itself and more information regarding this episode are freely accessible on the Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/posts/69057149/ Episode Credits Intro/Outro: Opening Interlude Voice Over: Opening Interlude Music:
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